Color of Hope
by malibumomner
Summary: The model falls in love with the only girl who sees the real him, and the super hero falls in love with her partner who s too blinded by his feelings to see the truth in front of him. (Blind!Marinette Au)
1. Chapter 1

Her fingers dance across bolts of fabric, pausing when she feels something that tickles her skin delectably. She glides her hand to find the loose ends and pulls just enough out so she can grasp the delicate fabric with both hands and let it flutter against her arms.

¨Adrien, what do you think of this?¨

¨The color is hideous.¨

Marinette giggles. ¨I should have just brought Alya.¨

¨Hey! I cleared my schedule today to help you out!¨ He pinches her arm and she tries to swat his hand away. ¨Plus you never told me what you're working on.¨

¨Alya found a dress she really liked at a boutique but they didn't have her size. I'm gonna see if I can replicate it.¨

He hums and rubs the fabric between his fingers. ¨It´s a little sheer.¨

¨I´ll put in a lining. What color do you think I should get?¨ She asks.

He scans the bolts of fabric that line the wall and spots a shade of purple he´s seen Alya in before. The roll is just out of reach, and his Chat tendencies urge him to climb the wall and pull down the fabric himself. Rather than make a fool of himself, he scouts the area for an employee. ¨There's a nice purple higher up, I´ll have to get a worker to help us out.¨

¨I´ll wait here.¨

They get the fabric for the dress and the lining loaded into the cart. Her cane taps along the floor as she runs her hand along the stretch knits and polyesters, a grin etched on her face. He loves watching her in her element. His father had once taken him to the company's fabric warehouse, but Adrien had found the trip to be rather boring. Gabriel Agreste judged the the fabric as coldly and critically as he regarded people. But Marinette was pure joy in a fabric store, there's so much for her to play with, she could lose herself if she didn't limit herself to one project.

¨How come you've never made something for me?¨ Adrien asks and she halts. An adorable shade of pink crosses her cheeks as she nervously runs her fingernails along the grain of a cotton broadcloth.

¨ It's….. the way I make clothes… it can be kind of…. Uncomfortable for other people,¨ she stutters.

¨You mean you get really handsy? I knew that.¨ She bats at his feet with her cane and he dances away. ¨Come on, I´ve done hundreds of fittings, I'm used to people putting their _hands_ all over me." He says in a low suggestive voice that makes her laugh. ¨make me something simple. I want a Marinette design!¨

¨Fine,¨ she sighs, defeated. ¨How about a button up shirt?¨

He´s trying to figure out why he thought this was a good idea. He assumed this would feel like any other fitting or photo shoot, but the way her hands drift across his chest makes his heart pound against his rib cage. She´s strictly business, her tongue pokes out from between her lips occasionally when she's focusing extra hard on her task, and he can't stop staring at her mouth. She doesn't own a male dress form, so she cuts pieces of yarn to match his measurements and then pins them to her mannequin, so she can reference the lengths of yarn later when she drafts the pattern. Her head nudges against his chest briefly as she reaches behind him to wrap yarn around his waist. He tenses. If she hears his heart beating impossibly faster, she doesn't mention anything. Goosebumps raise where her knuckles lightly brush against his arm as she measures his biceps. When she runs her hands along hips, he has to focus on breathing through his nose and stares directly at the ceiling. Curse his mind for betraying him.

¨I should have the pattern drafted by tomorrow, and I´ll make a mockup by this weekend. Then we'll do a fitting with that. Sound good?¨

¨Yeah. Fine.¨ He can't trust himself to answer with more than single word responses. She cleans up her work station, placing supplies in their designated spots, and he takes a moment to breathe.

She pauses. ¨Thanks for doing this. I know you probably get tired of all the model stuff, but I really appreciate you helping me out.¨

Marinette is far too kind for her own good. He doesn't deserve her kindness.

¨Anytime.¨ He promises.

* * *

He dreads when there's an Akuma attack when they're together. He gets her to safety and asks her to wait while he goes to help other people. She's never where he leaves her when he returns after the battle. She always claims she's fine, she can handle herself when things get tough, but it constantly worries him. It distracts him when he´s supposed to be saving the city. Ladybug always senses his agitation, she snaps his attention back with a strident ¨Chat, focus!¨ and they're in sync again. The faster they defeat the villain, the faster he can return to his princess.

When he arrives at the scene first, his task is to distract till Ladybug arrives, a job he thinks is quite befitting for him. His father has taught him well, he knows exactly how to demand attention, but he would much rather use it to help his polka-dot clad partner rather than pose for photos.

Dodging and weaving through attacks, he gives the citizens time to run for cover, checking the sky to catch a glimpse of red sail through. He catches her from the corner of his eye, Marinette running aimlessly, cane tapping frantically, arm outstretched to feel for any hindering obstacle.

His heart sinks.

He manages to deter the akuma just long enough to swoop down to Marinette. She jumps and freezes at the sound of his boots hitting the pavement in front of her.

¨Hello Princess. You're knight has arrived. please don't be alarmed, but you're in a danger zone and I'm going to have to pick you up.¨

He quickly but delicately scoops her up and bolts. She instinctually clutches to him, and he can´t help but marvel at how wonderfully she fits in his arm. Definitely not the time to be thinking of it, but he can´t stop himself. The akuma pursues them. Chat serpentines to evade the blasts of energy that shoot at him. How horrifying this must all be for Marinette. Whisked into the arms of someone she´s never met and recklessly flying over the streets of Paris. But she makes no noise of discomfort and latches onto him fiercely so he has one arm free to maneuver his baton. He had always been astounded by her bravery before, this is an entirely new level of courage. He finds a safe alley for her, not to far from her bakery, and returns to the fray. Ladybug follows not soon after and they defeat the foe quickly.

Later at school, they sit together in the library, he scratches out a mistake he´s made in his essay draft, her fingers glide along the raised dots of the textbook.

¨Hey, Adrien? What do you think of Chat Noir?¨

His pen halts, ¨why do you ask?¨

¨Well… he saved me the other day, he was very sweet about it too. I was just wondering what other people thought of him. Most people seem to only talk about Ladybug.¨

¨Are you not a Ladybug fan?¨

¨It´s not that! I just don't understand why Chat Noir doesn´t get the same recognition. They´re a team, aren´t they?¨

His lady had assured him thousands of times that she needed him, but somehow to hear Marinette say it was a gift beyond compare.

¨They're definitely an incomparable duo.¨

¨Can…. Can I ask you a weird question?¨

¨Of course.¨

¨D-do you think Chat has feelings for Ladybug?¨

The blush that creeps across her cheeks confuses him more than the question. It's not uncommon for people to discuss the nature of Ladybug and Chat Noir´s relationship. While it doesn't make him uncomfortable to talk about it, it's still strange to talk about, especially since he is one of the subjects of discussion. He´s gotten pretty good at redirecting conversations about the topic, but now his curiosity is peaked.

¨I think their relationship is purely professional. Why do you ask?¨ She fidgets. He´s never seen her like this. Even in her clumsiest moments when she trips on her way to give a presentation, she exudes confidence and surety, laughing and pulling herself up before anyone can step in to help. Her spirit inspires others, her ability to call people out on their bullshit - namely Chloé- leaves people in awe. Here she is, sitting across from him _fidgeting_ while discussing the nonexistent relationship between the city's beloved heroes.

¨Mari… do you have a crush on Chat Noir?¨ She tense and leans towards him, hand frantically reaching across the table to find his.

¨Adrien, keep your voice down!¨ She hisses, hand finding his and squeezing.

¨Oh my gosh, you totally have a crush on Chat Noir!¨ He whispers back, heart swelling. He wants to run to the roof and scream in elation. ¨Why are you so embarrassed?¨

She frowns and he wants to badly for her to smile again. ¨It´s kind of pathetic don't you think? For me to like him? I know realistically nothing could ever happen, but it's almost laughable for me to imagine it.¨

He almost tells her everything. His identity and his feelings for her. The defeated look on her face makes his heart ache, his Mari deserves so much more and it pains him to hear her speak ill of herself. Every corner of his mind screams at him to just tell her the truth. Plagg had said he couldn´t tell anyone, but Marinette wasn't just anyone, she would keep the secret. The only sensible part of his mind (surprisingly is sounds a little like Plagg) tells him it would only hurt her feelings if he were to suddenly come clean now.

¨Marinette, trust me, I think you have just as good a chance at any other girl to win the heart of Chat Noir"

 _There's no competition._

The smile she offers isn't genuine. If only he could tell her the truth.

¨Chat would be a lucky guy to have you.¨

* * *

Ladybug hears the familiar beeping of Chat´s miraculous over the sound of the cameras clicking. She tunes out the questions from reporters and zeros in to her partner. His breathing is labored, his footsteps staggering as he moves towards her. He´s limping. She can smell him sweating as he exerts himself to maintain his composure. Another 's no way he´s gonna make it.

¨Ladies and gentlemen, if you´ll excuse us, we have pressing matters to deal with.¨ She crosses the distance between them, slips his arm over her neck so he can grasp her shoulder, and tosses her yoyo. It finds it's mark and the string vibrates. Through the pulsations she can feel it's hooked around a vacated construction crane on top of a building. Not a good place for him to de-transform and definitely not far enough from prying eyes, but they're losing time quickly and she needs to move. She tugs and they soar. She retracts and releases, her trustworthy yoyo always finding a safe surface to latch on.

¨My Lady!¨ Chat panics. She knows. Time´s up.

She hears his transformation wear off, feeling the heat from the released energy, just as she touches down on a secluded roof top. She breathes in deeply, subtly sniffing the air. There's no one around, he´s safe here. He retracts his arm from her shoulders and shuffles away, every other foot step thunking harder against the concrete. The subtle vibrations of his moments rattle up her legs and she tries not to focus too much. If she concentrates hard enough, she´s sure she can distinguish his features now that he no longer wears a mask.

¨Ladybug, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be so reckless. Oh god. I´ve messed everything up!¨ His voice is higher, she can feel his desire to pace but he can't with his leg. The air shifts around him as something small floats around his head. Ladybug can only assume it's his kawami. It mumbles something about being too tired to deal with anything and flits into his jacket. The strong smell of cheese fills the air.

¨Chat, don't worry about it, I don't recognize you.¨ He regards her for a moment, then turns his head to look at a billboard behind him. The movement ruffles his hair and she can smell the distinct aroma of Chat, along with another familiar scent she can't quite place.

¨Ladybug, I don't mean to sound vain, but I'm almost positive you've seen me before.¨ She can feel his eyes boring into her.

¨How much do you wanna bet,¨ she mumbles.

¨What was that?¨

It's time to come clean.¨Believe me, Chat, I haven't seen you before. Ever.¨ No response. She tunes in to the sound of his heartbeat. It's beating frantically, like the wings of the purified akuma.

¨Are you blind?¨ He whispers, voice heavy with disbelief. She nods. She can hear the blood roaring in his ears.

¨Why didn´t you ever tell me.¨

¨I…. I didn´t want anyone to know. That´s why I was so determined to keep our identities a secret from each other. ¨ She hears car rushing past on the street, feels the steps of thousands civilians strolling casually by the shop windows just below them, but time feels like it has stopped on the rooftop.

¨My god, you're incredible,¨ he breathes.

She´s almost too stunned for words. ¨W-What?¨ Is all she can splutter out.

¨How do you do it? I had no idea? I thought you were amazing before, but… Wow!¨

She wants to cry but she's too stunned.

¨This seriously doesn't bother you?¨

¨No, of course not. Why would it?¨

She breathes a sigh of relief. ¨I had just assumed….¨

¨I promise, it doesn't bother me at all.¨ He shifts nervously. ¨Do you mind me asking a few questions?¨

She helps him to sit on a ledge, just away from the edge of the building so they're not at risk of being spotted. He moves his kawami from his pocket to the spot besides him so the little creature can enjoy his cheese.

¨When Tikki, my kawami, offered me the powers, she said I would be granted a special kind of vision. All of my other sense are stronger when I'm Ladybug. I can practically smell and hear everything within a 5-mile radius.¨

¨That has to have its disadvantages,¨ he chuckles.

¨Oh god. Everytime we fight an akuma that´s sound or smell based.. Akk!" She grimaces and he laughs harder.

¨So you fight based on hearing and smell?¨

¨That's just part of it. The thing that helps the most is sounds and motions create vibrations and I can _feel everything_.¨ She thrums her fingers along the ledge, and she sees him leaning towards her, eagerly waiting. ¨Normally, all I see is darkness. When I'm Ladybug, the heightened senses add light to things. I can see outlines of shapes in, I can feel where people and things are.¨

¨You see the world in darkness and light? So in black and white?¨

¨I guess. Sorry, I don't really know how to best describe it.¨

¨It´s fine.¨ He places a comforting hand on her shoulder.

¨I think I see a color sometimes?¨

¨What do you mean?¨

¨Whenever I cast ´Lucky Charm´ whatever object it makes is really… weird. It stands out, it doesn't look like darkness or light, but I don't know what it is. I think it's a color.¨

¨What does it look like?¨

She thinks for a moment. ¨For starters, it looks like what bubble wrap feels like.¨

¨Polka dots," he chuckles. ¨Usually polka-dotted items have two colors, what´s the second color?¨

She tried to imagine how Alya would describe it. Alya is so much better at words than she is.

¨It looks like hope.¨ She pauses, expecting a response from him, but he offers none. ¨Whenever I see it, I know the battle's almost done and we're one step closer to saving someone. It's not an ultimate solution, but it reminds me that we're trying and if we keep trying we'll succeed. ¨

¨Red.¨ She can hear the smile in his voice. ¨Whenever you cast ´Lucky Charm´ it's always red with black polka dots.¨

¨If you knew, why did you have me describe it?¨ She pouts.

¨It´s your color. I wanted to hear what you said.¨

¨Oh. Well. That's not what I imagined red to look like.¨

¨What did you think it looked like?¨

¨I don't know anymore. When my friend described it she said it was ´the color of love and heat and passion.´ I always just imagined when you put your hand to close to fire and it got really hot.¨

¨I think I like your description better.¨ He shifts toward her. ¨You know, your suit matches 'Lucky Charm'."

¨It does?¨

¨Yeah.¨ He takes her hand kisses the back of it, just as he had done a hundred times. ¨You´re the color of hope.¨


	2. Chapter 2

The two men in Marinette´s life were driving her insane.

She considered herself lucky that Chat didn´t treat her differently when they battled, although, she had noticed he tended to choose his words more carefully during a fight. He stopped advising her to ¨look out,¨ rather he suggested more often that she ¨be careful.¨ He never doubts her abilities, instead, he took the information she gave him and found more ways to be useful to her. He would tap his baton against surfaces to give her vibrations to see. He takes special care to control any sounds he produces, avoiding being too loud so it doesn't affect her overly sensitive ears.

She appreciates his continued trust, but the thing that baffles her about Chat is his new habit of _flirting_ with Ladybug. Admittedly, she had developed feelings for him early in their partnership, she had fallen for his humor, his courage, his _blind_ faith in her and others. He was such a strong, warm force in life, it was hard not to become infatuated with him.

But he was in love with someone else.

He would playfully respond to her flirting, firing back some quick witted pun that she loathed to admit she loved, but it was obvious his heart was somewhere else. There were times during a fight when he would become distracted, his head frantically shifting back and forth, seeking out the crowds, trying to find someone in particular to make sure they were safe. Her heart would ache each time she sensed his agitation, but ultimately she wanted Chat to be happy. So she would capture his attention back, the faster they defeated the villain, the faster he could return to the object of his affections.

Since Ladybug had revealed her secret to him, she had noticed subtle shifts in Chat. He would find more excuses to keep his hand on her shoulder, not to assist her, simply to maintain contact. His responses to her playful banter became more genuine. When he would kiss her hand, as he had done so frequently before, his lips would linger for a fraction of a second longer.

It was maddening! She was driving herself insane trying to figure out the connection between her grand reveal and the change in his behavior, but to no avail. To make matters worse, even Adrien had been acting funny around her.

Adrien had reverted back to his old ways when they had first met. Unsure of himself and how to interact with her. He seemed nervous to touch her, something she hadn't sensed from him in years. Once he had realized how he could help her, he never missed an opportunity to extend his arm to her when she needed someone to guide her through a crowd, or manage a slippery staircase when it rained. When she reached her hand out to feel for his familiar arm, it wasn't there. Her hand would grapple air, his footsteps continuing ahead of her. She would make a small noise of surprise at his absence and he would realize his mistake, doubling back to take her arm and guide her.

She missed looping her arm through his, missed the comfortable routine the two of them had fallen into. Alya had noticed, but of course she noticed everything. They tossed around ideas as to what caused the sudden change in the boy. Alya, ever the voice of reason, suggested that Marinette simply ask him to avoid the headache.

Adrien walks with her down a hallway at school, the silence between them is no longer comfortable. She pauses at the top of a staircase, he goes two steps down, then immediately back tracks and carefully reaches out to grab her forearm.

¨Adrien, did I do something to upset you?¨ She rushes to get out before her nerves get the better of her.

¨No!¨ He practically shouts, his voice echoing loudly in the empty hall. ¨Why would you think that?¨

¨You´ve been acting kinda weird lately. Especially towards me, and I kinda thought maybe you were upset?¨"

¨No! Gosh, no! I'm sorry. I´ve just...¨ he searches for the right words, ¨I've been distracted lately. There's a lot on my mind.¨

¨Oh.¨ The idea of him dealing with something big on his own doesn't sit too well with her. ¨Well, you know you can talk to me about it if it's bad, right?¨

He squeezes her arm reassuringly. ¨I know, and I promise I will, but this is something I need to figure out on my own first. Trust me, it's not as bad as you think it is, it's just a little complicated and I need time to figure it out.¨

She trusts him. She can´t tell him everything- secret identities need to be protected- but she trusts him completely. She can only hope he trusts her too.

* * *

The two women in Adrien´s life are driving him insane.

And they happened to be the same person.

He had seen similarities between Ladybug and Marinette. Their personalities had been scarily similar, he had thought on multiple occasions if it hadn't been for Marinette´s blindness, they could have been the same person.

Then he discovered Ladybug´s blindness and everything _clicked._

Undoubtedly, they were the same person. He´s disappointed in himself that he hadn't noticed sooner, but he´s presented with a far greater issue to dwell on.

Marinette was Ladybug. Mari had feelings for Chat Noir. Ladybug had been hitting on Chat Noir for years. He was Chat Noir.

The girl he had been pining for for so long had feelings for him, and he had been turning her down!

He wants to dig himself into a hole and just bury himself alive. He hadn't known about Marinette´s affection for Chat until recently, but he had known about Ladybug´s. He had been politely declining her advances for years because of his unwavering loyalty to Marinette. They were the same person! He had been turning her away!

Now he understands the real reason Marinette thought it silly for her to imagine herself with Chat. Not because of her blindness, but because Chat had refused her. He wants to go back in time and strangle his past self. Why couldn't he have realized sooner?

But how was he supposed to handle this? Does he tell her the truth? Does he keep it a secret? Protecting both their identities now. It doesn't seem fair for him to know while she doesn´t.

He gets distracted, during battles with Ladybug he has to watch his words. He has too many close calls where he almost calls her Marinette. With Marinette, he forgets her powers don't carry outside of the suit, he keeps leaving her behind, letting his feet fall a little heavier than normal so she can feel the vibrations and follow the sound. When he looks down and sees converse instead of steel toed boots, he whips around to help her, blushing madly at the mistake every time.

He´ll eventually tell her, he decides, he needs to end the madness. He just needs to wait for the right moment.

* * *

There are times when he´s glad she can´t see, especially now that he´s grown so possessive of her. Before he knew her secret, he had always been subtle about turning away other boys he saw taking an interest in her. She was beautiful, as both Ladybug and Marinette. A sad fact she might not ever realized. Now that he carried the burden of her secret, he snarled at the lingering glances, scaring them with the fire in his eyes. He feared they would put the pieces together if they looked at her too long. He actually starts gowling one day, luckily he manages to convince Marinette there's a cat nearby that doesn't look very friendly and they should probably move.

Their art teacher announces that they´ll be creating portraits of each other. She asks them to partner up. Nathanael rotates in his seat to address Marinette but quickly turns back when he catches Adrien´s glare. Adrien desperately whispers to Alya, begging to be Marinette´s partner. Alya offers a sly winks and switches seats with him, telling Marinette that she´s gonna partner with Nino so she can paint her boyfriend´s face. Marinette laughs as Adrien nervously takes the seat next to her.

They have a week to finish the project, so they plan to meet at Marinette´s house where she has all her supplies. She´s going to embroider her project. She's never tried embroidering a portrait before, she's excited and curious.

He grows more nervous. He had meant to prevent someone else from staring at her face for too long, but now he realizes how long she'll have to feel _his_ face. He had barely survived the fittings for the shirt she made for him. Surely, this time she would feel his face heat up, and he would have no excuse to offer her.

In her bedroom, after he's eaten his fill of croissants and sweets, he starts sketching her. He's not very artistically inclined, but he wants to do her justice. She sniggers every time she hears him brush away eraser shavings and curses.

"Need some help?"

"Shut up..." He mumbles. "I'm almost done."

He spends a little too long tracing the shape of her lips. There's something hypnotic about them, they've effectively captured his attention. He can't accurately capture her cute button nose, or her bright, deep eyes. The least he can do is pay tribute to her lovely lips.

"Done!" He flips the sketch pad towards her.

She gasps, "oh Adrien! It's beautiful!" She bites her lips to contain her giggles.

"Oh. Sorry," He mutters lamely, laying the pad in his lap.

"It's fine. Show it to Alya, she'll make sure you made me look good. " She rolls her desk chair closer till their knees touch. He tenses at the contact, she raises her hand tentatively. "My turn now?"

"Don't you need your embroidery stuff?" He goes cross eyed focusing on the slender fingers inches away from his face.

"It's gonna take me a while to finish it, I was gonna do it based off memory." He leans back further. She draws her hand back for a moment. "Does this make you uncomfortable?"

"N-no... no... I've just... I've never done this before." He admits.

"Alya was a little nervous too the first time she let me see her. It's definitely not common for most people."

"I don't mind, honestly."

She smiles. "We'll take it slow."

Marinette reaches forward slowly, letting her hands hover in midair. Adrien breathes in deeply before reaching for her hands and pressing them gently to his cheeks. They sit still for a moment, she cradles his face, his hands pressed over hers. He lets his hands fall, closing his eyes and reveling in the contact. There's something calming about Marinette's presence and her gentle fingers tracing his skin. She glides her fingers from her chin to his jaw, feeling for the shape of his face. She traces along the sides of his face until her fingers touch his hair. She runs her fingers through the soft locks and she ruffles it

He bats her hands away playfully. "Hey! You're supposed to be looking, not messing up my hair, " he laughs.

"Sorry, couldn't resist" He doesn't hesitate to guide her hands back to his face.

Her thumbs follow the curve of his nose and the outline of his eyes. The pads of her fingers linger over his lips, or perhaps he imagines her hesitance. He breathes in the feeling of her skin on his.

"Now I get why you're a model, your features are so defined!" He gives a short humorless laugh, he'd trade his sharp features in a heartbeat for a chance of normalcy. For a chance with her.

She moves to pull away, but he halts her hands, keeping them pressed against his skin. She knows he's starved for affection, with a father like his, who wouldn't? She offers comfort countless times, for that, he's eternally grateful. She leans forwards, his breath catches in his throat, expecting a miracle, but she simply brings her forehead to rest against his. He closes his eyes and presses back gently. As much as he'd like to close the distance between them, he'll take this opportunity and enjoy it for as long as he can.

Her embroidery work is impeccable. As always, the teacher praises her for her creativity and skill, while she denies such claims of greatness. While Adrien's project isn't as grand, he still receives some welcome praise, the teacher greatly admires that he attempted a new medium. He had taken his original sketch and meticulously carved the details into clay. Marinette could run her fingers through the grooves in the flat tile and visualize Adrien's work. It was the only method he could think of to let her see.

She runs her hands adoringly across the work, a small smile etched on her face. "Can I keep this?"

"Why? It's not that good."

"It's special," she decides, "and it was obviously made for me. I've never had art of my own face before."

"As long as I can keep the one you made." The trade doesn't seem fair. Her piece is worth a thousand of his.

"Deal." She steps away from the project, her hands seek him and he instinctively reaches for her. She grabs his arm and cautiously runs her hand up until she finds the curve of his neck, then the softness of his cheek. She tip toes and brings his face closer to hers, placing a quick kiss on his opposite cheek. "It's beautiful, Adrien. Thank you."

His face flares up. He presses his fingers against the tingly skin, but it does nothing to stop the sensation.

"O-of course!"


	3. Chapter 3

Hey Ya'll, thanks for reading so far, this is more of a flashback to how they met and they start building their friendship

* * *

Their first meeting had been an accident. A beautiful accident really, Adrien was eternally grateful that he met Marinette, but some part of him wished it had been on better terms.

On his first day of school, Chloé had declared herself his personal tour guide. She latched herself to his arm and displayed him to the school as she escorted him to class. He was cordial, as always, signing the sheets of paper offered to him, shaking hands and waving to his new classmates. Cholé pointed out his new seat, directly across the aisle from her, but dragged him to her spot so they could gossip before class.

In her opinion, no one in the class, excluding herself and Sabrina, were very good people and Adriekins shouldn't waste his precious time on them. Adriene wanted to judge everyone for himself. He forgot about Chloé´s disregard for personal space, she had moved her face uncomfortably close to his, he panicked and took a step back to put space between them and his back hit something. Make that someone. There was a high pitched squeek and he turned to find he had knocked one of his new classmates _up_ the stairs.

¨Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!¨ He crouched to help her up, his eyes locked on to the tell tale white cane that had bounced down a few steps. ¨O-Oh! I'm so, so sorry, I didn´t realize….¨

¨Don't worry about it.¨ She assured, she turned her head to face him and offered a small smile, her eyes never focusing on anything.

He grabbed under her arm to help her stand and ducked back down to grab her cane. He held it out to her awkwardly, not sure if he should nudge her hand to let her know it was there or simply say something. Lucky for him, she held out her hand expectantly and he passed it off to her.

¨Clumsy as ever, Marinette. You should really be more careful, you could hurt someone.¨ Chloé scoffed.

¨Chloé!¨ Adrien was appalled, how could his friend be this brash?

Marinette held up her hand, silencing Adrien. ¨Good to see you too, Chloé. You sound a little tired, you should take it easy, I know it must be exhausting to maintain your level of insensitivity.¨ The small girl suppressed a smile. Chloé sneered at Marinette and took her seat.

¨The bell hasn't even rung yet and you guys are already at it,¨ Alya laughed.

¨I didn´t start it, Alya.¨ Marinette stated. Alya climbed the steps and took Marinette´s arm, guiding her up the last few steps to her seat, settling her before moving to her spot.

Adrien was about to apologize again, but the bell rang and the teacher sent them all to their seats. His stomach felt like lead. His first interaction with one of his new classmates had been absolutely horrible! He had _knocked her over_ and then Chloé had _insulted_ her! He knew Cholé could be insensitive at times, but he had never really known how bad she could be. To be so rude to someone who was blind! He couldn't process it. And what must this girl think of him now? This was not how he imagined his first day to go.

Determined to apologize properly for everything, he waited for the opportune moment but he kept missing it. Any chance he had to talk to her, he would get stopped by someone else who wanted to get an autograph or Chloé would steer him somewhere to show him something new. By the end of the day, he felt utterly defeated.

To make matters worse, the Akuma that had terrorized the city the day before, Stoneheart, had appeared, stronger than before. He was still fairly new at the whole superhero thing, considering he had only been gifted his powers the day before, but it seemed rather unfair for there to be two attacks in two days.

He and his new partner managed to take down the Akuma flawlessly. As they watched her Miraculous spell repair the extensive damage to the city, his resolve strengthened. He was going to repair the damage he had caused earlier that day. He couldn't forgive himself if he let this go.

After school the next day, he waited for his driver in the school's entryway, taking cover from the rain. He let out a sigh, disappointed once again that he never got to talk to Marinette. From the corner of his eye, he saw a black umbrella pop open, and Marinette took a cautious step out into the rain.

¨Why so glum, chum?¨ Marinette asked trying to lighten the mood.

¨Marinette! I´ve been meaning to talk to you! I really wanted to apologize again for yesterday, I'm really sorry I knocked you over, and I'm especially, sincerely sorry for Chloé´s behavior.¨ Adrien rushed to speak.

¨It´s not a big deal, really.¨

¨Yes it is! She was incredibly rude to you!¨

¨I'm used to Chloé, I can handle myself.¨ She leaned closer, ¨between you and me, it's kinda nice that Chloé treats me the same as she does everyone else. But don't tell her I said that or I´ll kick your butt.¨ For a moment, he took her seriously until he sees the smile tug at the corners of her mouth.

¨I still feel really bad for bumping into you, I really should have been more aware of my surroundings...¨ He mumbled.

¨Tell you what, do me a favor and all will be forgiven. Sound good?¨ He instantly brightened at the idea.

¨Of course! What do you need?¨

¨Would you mind escorting me down the stairs? I'm pretty accident prone, and blind girl plus wet, slippery stairs is just a recipe for disaster. Also, it's hard to hold an umbrella, use my cane, and hold the railing at the same time.¨

¨Of course!¨

She passed him the umbrella and moved her hands up his arm until she could link her arm comfortably with his. She doesn't cling to him like Chloé does, and for once, he doesn´t feel like arm candy. He positioned the umbrella so it covers both of them, she carefully tapped her way down the stairs, they moved slowly so neither of them slip.

¨One more step.¨ He warned.

¨You're a pro at this¨ She laughed when they reach the bottom.

¨Thanks.¨ He blushed, not used to receiving praise from others.

¨Marinette!¨ A large man approaching from down the street called out.

¨That´s my dad, he´s here to walk me home so I don't accidentally drown in a puddle.¨ Adrien chuckled.

¨Here´s your umbrella back.¨ He carefully brushed it against the hand that held onto his arm so she could easily take it from him.

¨Why don't you hold on to it? You're ride´s not here yet, right?¨

¨I´ll be fine¨

¨Keep it, I insist.¨ She offered another smile and squeezed his arm reassuringly. Adrien´s heart skipped a beat.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

She moved from the cover of the umbrella. Her father reached her quickly, and once she had placed her hand on his forearm, they started walking home. ¨Bring it back tomorrow! See you!¨ She called over he shoulder.

¨Y-yeah. See you¨ He raised a hand to wave and it hangs in midair.

¨Looks like you got yourself a girl friend.¨ Plagg popped out of his collar.

¨She´s not my girlfriend, she's just a friend.¨ Adrien stopped and the impact of the word hit him.

¨A friend.¨

* * *

Adrien watched as Alya guided Marinette´s fingers across the page, following the lines of dresses from Gabriel Agreste´s new collection, tracing the subtle curves of the fabric on the page. It was fascinating watching the two of them interact, it was so relaxed and casual. Alya was Marinette´s eyes, and Marinette was Alya´s ears. Alya loved to talk and describe everything and great detail, and Marnette would patiently listen to her friend babble about anything and everything. Adrien was a little jealous.

¨It´s short, sleeveless with a wide boatneck top. the skirt bubbles out with wide pleats. It's the same shape as if you held a tulip upside down. There's a dainty bow at the waist with a belt, it's a great contrast to the bold metallic vines that explode from the waist and stretch out across the top and skirt. It fans out like the indents in a sea shell.¨ Alya described, tracing the shape of leafy design in the bodice and skirt.

¨What color is it?¨ Marinette inquired.

¨Pink.¨

¨Ooo, I love pink. Which shade?¨

Alya closed her eyes, pausing a moment to gather her thoughts.¨Light comfy pink. It's Sunday morning in the middle of summer where you've slept in. You can feel the sun hit your face through the window. It's not unbearably hot, it's comfortably warm. You get to stay in bed for a few more moments and just bask in the warmth with no commitments and no pressure.¨

¨That´s a pretty pink.¨ Marinette sighed.

¨Wow.¨ Adrien breathed, amazed. ¨ You're really good at this.¨

¨I have a writer's mind.¨ Alya leaned back and put her arms behind her head. ¨I don't really do much creative writing anymore, running the Ladyblog takes up most of my free time, but I still get to flex my creative muscles with Marinette."

¨I keep telling her she should just stick with writing stories. It would be much safer than running after Ladybug and Chat Noir everyday.¨ Marinette pouted.

¨I´d much rather live the action than write it.¨ Alya leaned forward and flipped the page to the next design. ¨Hey, Adrien, why don't you give this a try?¨

¨W-what?¨

¨Yeah! I'm curious to see how you would describe your dad´s designs.¨ Alya stood from her seat and tugged Adrien to the spot next to Marinette.

¨I don't think I´ll be very good at this.¨ Adrien mumbled.

Marinette nudged his shoulder with hers playfully. ¨Don't worry, even if you're awful at it, we can still be friends."

¨Oh jeez, thanks.¨ Adrien rolled his eyes, Marinette laughed at his tone. She laid her hand on the table and he hesitantly guided it to the page. ¨Umm….¨

¨Why don't you start with the structure?¨ Marinette suggested.

¨Right. So, it's a long evening gown. Halter style top. Chunky belt at the middle to cinch it, the skirt is gathered and flows,there's a slit on one side up to the thigh.¨ He carefully runs her finger along outline of the dress.

¨oh c´mon, you can be a little more creative than that.¨ Alya groaned. ¨At least compare the skirt to something so she can imagine how it flows.¨

Adrien stared at the page. ¨It looks like water.¨ He decided.

¨Water can be tricky.¨ Marinette raised an eyebrow. ¨Is it moving water or still?¨

¨It´s moving water. It kinda looks like falling water. Not like water from a faucet, more like a waterfall.¨

¨That´s a little better¨ Alya crossed her arms and nodded. ¨Talk about the color next.¨

¨It's ombré. It goes from navy blue to a kind of magenta color.¨

Alya smacked her hand to her forehead. ¨oh for the love of… you gotta find a way to describe the color.¨

¨Oh, right!¨ Adrien hummed in concentration.

¨If it helps, I already have an idea of what ombré looks like.¨ Marinette said. ¨Alya described it once. She said it's like standing in the shade and slowly moving your arm out into the sun. You can feel the warmth moving down from the tips of your fingers up to your elbow but your shoulder still feels the chill of the shade.¨

Adrien gaped at Alya. ¨Man, you are _really_ good at this.¨ Alya merely shrugged at the compliment.

¨Why don't you tell me which part is in the shade?¨ Marinette suggested.

¨The bodice of the dress is the shade, it's the darkest part. It's… a lonely sort of blue. It's only really there to make the magenta in the skirt more prominent. The magenta is the center of attention, it's confident, it's the sun, and it draws attention away from the blue. But there's a point where they meet, it's purple and it's exciting cause that when the lonely blue decides to become more brave. But all the colors blend together seamlessly cause you realized you need all of it to make it work. You need the lonely blue just as much as you need the confident magenta otherwise the dress isn't as beautiful.¨ He let out a sad sigh when he finished.

He´s fairly confident that his father never put nearly as much thought into picking colors for his designs. Gabriel´s only concern was that everything looked beautiful and perfect, he didn't think twice about lonely blues. He hadn´t discussed much of his family life with his new friends yet but they could sense that something was wrong.

Marinette held his hand between both of hers, stroking her thumb across his skin lightly. ¨I always thought blue was a nice color.¨

Adrien smiled at their entwined hands, giving a quick squeeze as a silent thanks.

¨Me too.¨

* * *

¨Oh, Chat! I'm so sorry!¨

Her yoyo had a habit of falling onto Chat´s head. Whenever the string would go slack she had a difficult time predicting where the yoyo would land until it knocked into the top of Chat´s head. It was easiest for her to see with the vibrations from the string, she had still been learning how to fully utilize her enhanced sense of smell and hearing, but she didn't have many opportunities to practice outside of Akuma battles.

¨My Lady, I'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose.¨ He rubbed the top of his head and winced.

¨Sorry, I'm still getting used to this.¨ Her earring beeped.

¨Yeah, me too. Hey, maybe we could start meeting up to practice?¨ Chat suggested.

Definitely not. Arranging practices would mean they would have to reveal their identities. Chat couldn´t know. She didn't even want to think about what would happen if he found out. Their partnership had just started and if Chat knew about her secret it would effectively end things.

¨Don't think that'll work, Kitty. You and are supposed to be strangers without the masks.¨

¨Maybe we could arrange something while still in uniform?¨

¨Not to sound rude, but it'll probably be easier for me to practice on my own.¨ It was true, really. She didn't need help learning to battle, that skill came naturally with the suit. She just needed to learn to see. ¨Besides, if we were gonna start arranging to meet up, I would much rather it be for movies and dinner.¨ She winked at him. She had never understood the purpose of winking when Alya explained it to her, but she realizes it must have some practical use by the way it makes Chat get all flustered.

¨M-my Lady, that would be rather difficult, given our not-so-subtle costumes. We´d stand out wherever we go.¨ Chat stuttered.

¨Well then,¨ she shifted closer to him, reached up and flicked the bell on his neck, ¨We'll just have to plan something a little more… _intimate_ then, won't we?¨

She could feel the heat radiating off his body with his embarrassment. Her own face warming at her boldness, she made her way towards the edge of the building, her earring beeping again.

¨L-L-Ladybug!¨ Chat spluttered.

¨Au revoir, Chaton!¨ She called over her shoulder before letting her yoyo fly.

Later in her room, she hugged a pillow to her chest, her face heated up to volcanic levels.

¨My my, someone is getting rather bold.¨ Tikki tittered.

¨Oh Tikki, I don't know what's gotten into me! I´ve never done anything like that in my life!¨ Marinette groaned into the pillow.

¨Isn't it obvious?¨ Tikki, ever the hopeless romantic, giggled at her chosen´s naivety. ¨You have feelings for him!¨

¨WHAT?!¨ Marinette shot up from the bed, pulling at the pillow, the stitches straining to keep it from tearing. ¨I do not have a _crush_ on Chat Noir!¨

¨What's so bad about having a crush on him?¨

¨He´s my partner, it would make things awkwards. Plus, there's the fact that I'm…." She slunk back onto the bed, falling onto her side, and curling in on herself. ¨It just isn't an option for me.¨ Tears welled up in her eyes.

Tikki flew over to the girl and placed a paw on her cheek. ¨Marinette, you doubt yourself too much. I picked you to be Ladybug because you're brave and strong and wonderful. With and without the mask, you are miraculous. You just need to remind yourself of that.¨

Marinette opened her hand and the little creature landed in her palm. She brought her hand towards her face and pressed her forehead to Tikki´s.

¨Thanks Tikki.¨

Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad for her to indulge in a small crush on her partner. Maybe it wouldn't even be so bad to admit that she felt confident and unstoppable as Ladybug. She just needed to remind herself she was worth it.


	4. Chapter 4

One of my readers on AO3 gave me a suggestion for the story and I had incorporated it into this chapter. This is the longest chapter I've written so far. I'm in the middle of writing the next chapter and that one seems like it's gonna end up being pretty long too. Yikes, why am I doing this to myself.

Anyways, if anyone has ideas or little bit you'd like to see, let me know, I'm open to suggestions and sometimes it helps when I'm suffering from writers block. If you have a tumblr, my username is **malibumomner** , Send me messages there, I'll see them faster. Or just drop by and kick my ass. I'm open to whatever.

* * *

Marinette figures in her line of work there wouldn't be much that still surprises her, but of course life has an interesting way of proving her wrong.

Nathanael has a crush on her.

Not on Ladybug. On Marinette.

She's used to hearing people gush over Ladybug's heroics, she's used to child like crushes many of her classmates develop for the spotted heroin, but surprisingly enough she has never experienced someone harboring a crush towards her civilian self. Nathanael had been her friend for years, she had never noticed any behavior that hinted at his true feelings, but of course she wasn't able to see any physical queues he might have given.

Chloė had been the one to break the news to her. And the whole class. Nathan had gotten in trouble for doodling in class again and was sent to the principal's office. He had tripped down the stairs and his sketches had gone flying. Marinette heard the papers fluttering and settling, she heard Nathan scramble to gather everything. Chloė announced to the class that Marinette had been the subject of his art. Some people had laughed, Marinette blushed a little, but poor Nathan had scrambled from the class as quick as he could, completely embarrassed.

Marinette had felt bad for the boy, and admittedly she was a little flattered. Her parents had raised her not to rely on validation from boys. She was told never to determine her beauty based on whether boys liked her or not, but it was hard for her to be confident about her own image when she couldn't actually see herself.

She compared the features of her own face to her parents and her friends. She had found similarities between herself and her parents, but her friends were vastly different. She thought her friends were beautiful, but she had wondered if she lived up to other people's standards of beauty. She felt almost guilty about how much more confident she felt knowing Nathan had a crush on her, especially since she didn't reciprocate the feelings.

At that point, it was just a matter of waiting, undoubtedly Nathan was going to be Akumazed. She was a bit on edge, she hated when attacks happened when she was with her friends. Bless them, they were concerned for her and she appreciated it, but it was so much harder to get away from them and take care of business. Lucky for her, nothing happened until after school.

She had been studying in her room, one earbud in as she listened to an audio tape of the chapter they had to read for homework. She heard Tikki drop the cookie she had been happily munching on moments before and then quickly flitting away to hide.

"Marinette, brace yourself! There's someone approaching your window!" The tiny creature whispered loudly from her hiding place.

Marinette froze. It was definitely an Akuma. Had Hawkmoth figured out she was Ladybug and sent someone after her directly? What did this Akuma want with her? She braced herself for someone to come smashing through the window. Instead, she heard a gentle tapping on the glass. Even though she had been prepared, the sound still made her jump. She pivoted in the chair to face the window, ripping out the earbud so she had full use of her hearing.

"Hello?" She called. She heard a strange swoosh and then there was a breeze in her room.

"Marinette, please don't be alarmed." A familiar voice said calmly.

"Nathan?" Marinette knew how he got into her room, knowing from experience that only a superpowered being could get onto her balcony, but his motives were still unclear. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?"

"Hawkmoth gave me special powers so I could get revenge on Chloė for embarrassing me. You can call me Evilustrator today. But I just had to come see you first. By the way, sorry about your wall."

What was wrong with her wall?

"What's wrong with my wall?" Her brows drew together.

"I had to erase it to get in here. Don't worry, I'll fix it on my way out!" She can hear his arms flailing about as he tries to reassure her.

"Why did you come see me?" She inquired.

"You probably didn't know this, but today's my birthday." She did know. She had made him a small zippered pouch to hold his art supplies, but he had never returned to class so she never had a chance to give it to him. "I came here to give you an invitation to my Birthday party tonight."

She felt a small gust of wind as he stepped closer to her. He held out his arm to her, letting the small slip of paper flicker so she could hear it and would know to grab it, She raised her hand and he pressed it to her palm. The invitation had been specially made so she could feel the raised edges of the design, the information for the party dotted on the page in braille.

"It'll just be the two of us, if you don't mind. If you can come, meet me by the Seine tonight."

She agreed to go on the condition that he left Chloe alone. He was hesitant, but his desire to spend the evening with Marinette outweighed his frustration with Chloe. Evilustrator left after repairing the damage to her wall and Marinette transformed. Chat and Ladybug had discovered that the could contact each other so long as one of them was transformed. Their Kwamiis could sense when their partner was trying to call, so it wasn't long before Chat appeared on the screen of her yoyo. They arranged to meet, Ladybug was apprehensive about her plan, but she needed Chat's full support.

"My Lady, lovely to see you, as always." Chat placed a kiss to her hand.

"Always a pleasure, Chaton, but we have some serious business to handle." She paced across the rooftop a few times, trying to decide the the best way to address the situation. "A close friend of mine encountered an Akuma earlier today. He specifically sought her out, not with malicious intent but because he wanted to take her on a date."

"So he was Akumazed because she refused him?"

"No, he had been embarrassed by Chloė Bourgeois earlier." Ladybug sighed. She and Chat had to deal with far too many Akumas that held grudges against Chloe. "He's targeting her, and my friend agreed to go on this date so he wouldn't attack. I need you to look after her for me."

"Of course, my Lady. When and where shall we meet?"

"There's a slight issue." Ladybug twiddled her fingers together nervously. "I have a very important prior engagement tonight and I won't be able to get there till later. I need you to keep an eye on her until I arrive." It was the best excuse she could come up with on such short notice. There was no way for her to be two places at once, and she figured it would be easier to have a happy Akuma than one trying to murder Chloe.

"I think I can manage on my own for a bit," Chat reassured. "Now, who's this prestigious friend of yours?"

"Just to give you a heads up, Chat, my friend is... Like me. She's blind, but trust me, she can handle herself. Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Chat's heartbeat faltered for a moment as he inhaled sharply. Before Ladybug had a chance to question his reaction, he composed himself quickly, taking her hand and squeezing it affectionately.

"I will keep her safe. You can count on me."

Ladybug sent him the address to the bakery and rushed home to prepare for her first date. Normally, she would have been far more excited at the concept of having at date had it not been for the abnormal circumstances. Chat arrived in grand fashion, playful and flirty, and cracking bad jokes at every turn, as always. It was peculiar being around Chat as Marinette. She had once interacted with him during an attack, but it had been awfully quick, she just remembers flying across Paris in his arms.

It was strange not being able to see her partner, and just knowing he was nearby, feeling his presence, made her even more clumsy and awkward. She had also noticed how different he sounded without her enhanced hearing. She could tell he was Chat, but there was something else familiar about his voice that she couldn't quite place.

As expected, her first date was a disaster. Her plans to get the stylist pen away from the Evilustrator were foiled when Chat revealed himself too early. Realizing he had been tricked, the Evilustrator broke his promise with Marinette and went after Chloė, trapping Marinette and Chat into a box before rushing away. They manage to escape, thanks to quick thinking on her part, and Chat escorts her to safety before pursuing the villain. She joins him shortly after as Ladybug.

The battle isn't particularly long. Once she realizes he can't use his tablet without light, she's actually incredibly grateful for her unique vision. Using the small red and black bouncy ball, she slams it against the wall, it ricochets and knocks out all the light fixtures in Chloe's room. She takes advantage of the villain's temporary blindness and plucks the pen from his hand, snapping it over her knee and fixing the mess.

Nathan approaches her at school the next day, apologizing profusely for the whole ordeal and checking to make sure he hadn't harmed her in any way. Even after she's assured him she's fine, he still feels incredibly guilty. He apologizes more while she rummages through her bag. She pulls out a small packaged, very neatly wrapped in Birthday themed paper. He hesitates to take it from her, she nudges it at him until he finally accepts it and opens his gift. Alya had helped her pick the material, it wasn't anything extraordinary, but she had wanted to make a small gift for her friend.

"T-thank you Marinette." He stammers out, clutching the pouch to his chest.

"Happy Birthday, Nathan." She reaches out and places her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry yesterday didn't turn out very well for you." He tenses at her touch, obviously still nervous to be around her, but he eases after a moment.

"This makes up for it." She can hear the smile in his voice. "Thank you!"

Once he wanders off, Adrien approaches, carefully linking his arm with Marinette's.

"That was really nice of you." Adrien nudges his hip into hers. She nudges back. "I heard what happened yesterday. You alright?"

"I'm fine," Marinette's cheeks heat up. "Chat helped me out yesterday."

"Ohhhh." Adrien drawls teasingly, "You got to spend yesterday with your boyfriend?"

Marinette bumps his hip hard and he stumbles away from her laughing. "It's not funny, Adrien!" She buries her face in her hands. "I was a total mess around him! It was embarrassing!"

"Oh c'mon, I'm sure it wasn't that bad," Adrien chuckles. "I'm sure Chat Noir is head over heels for you already."

She shoves Adrien away again, "Oh, shut up!" She cries. The idea is absolutely absurd. Adrien busts out laughing at her half hearted attempted to be angry at him.

"Hey, how come you never made me a Birthday gift?" Adrien asks abruptly.

Marinette stops in her tracks. She had made a gift for him. Adrien didn't know that she had taught herself to knit and had spent weeks making him a scarf. She had forgotten to ask her parents to sign the card for her, she had just given it to Natalie to give to Adrien. Adrien had been lead to believe the scarf was a gift from his father. He had been so overjoyed by the idea, she didn't have the heart to tell him the truth so she played along.

"I made you a shirt once!" She defends.

"Doesn't count. It wasn't my birthday." He counters.

"I… I… Um…" She doesn't have any excuse to give him. It's not in her nature to forget people's Birthdays and he knows it. Any excuse she can give him at this point would just sound cruel.

His voice drops to a whisper, "you made that scarf, didn't you?"

Her breath catches. God, what she wouldn't give to be able to see his face, to read his expression. "How did you know?" she breathes.

"My father saw me wearing it the other day. He asked where I got it." There a tinge of sadness in his voice.

"Oh, Adrien." She reaches out to him. He takes her hands and he allows her to comfort him. "I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

"You were so happy that he got you a gift, I didn't want you to know…"

"Marinette, I'm used to him forgetting things like that," He sighs." In all honesty, I was more upset that I didn't get something from you. "

She groans and thumps her head against his chest. "I'm so sorry. Next time, I will make sure I personally hand the gift to you so this doesn't happen again."

She feels his laughter shaking chest. "Don't stress out over it." He places his chin on top of her head and takes a deep breath. "I just really wanted to say 'thank you'."

"N-no problem."

Marinette had always found Adrien's sincerity to be endearing. But the way his voice sounds now, so genuine and soft, coupled with the position they're standing in makes her heart hammer unnaturally hard in her chest and leaves a foreign feeling in the pit of her stomach. She takes a few calming breaths to slow down her heart.

But the feeling still lingers.

* * *

After he finally tells Marinette about the scarf, she starts adding a signature to to all her pieces. It's incredibly subtle, he had only figured it out because he usually sat with her as she worked and he had noticed the simple similarity between her designs. It ends up being incredibly beneficial when Chloe tries to pass off Marinette's hat design as her own for a competition.

His father had been judging and asked for an explanation as to why both hats were the same. Chloe, dramatic as usual, began crying and claimed that Marinette stole her design. Adrien was about to interject, but Marinette leaned over and whispered to Alya for confirmation that the hat were exactly the same. When Alya confirmed that yes, the hats were completely the same down to every last detail, Marinette stepped forward, took Chloe's hat and flipped it upside down, revealing her own name embroidered into the design of the band.

Chloe stormed from the room, absolutely livid, and Marinette was declared the winner. Adrien was disappointed in Chloe but overjoyed for Marinette. This was exactly what she needed to start building her confidence as a designer. He was even more pleased when his father personally extended an invitation to Marinette to their home so she could give her input on the rest of the design for the photoshoot.

Well, as personal as you can get via webcam.

Regardless, Adrien was thrilled, this was the first time one of his friends was allowed to visit his house. Nino had come by once when his father had refused to let Adrien host a Birthday party. The encounter had not gone well, and after that, Adrien was hesitant to ask his father if friends could come over. But Marinette was finally coming!

He waited patiently in the foyer as his father bustled around his office. He had wanted to pick Marinette up, but her parents were just as excited and wanted to drop her off. When she finally arrived, he threw open the door before the bell had stopped chiming.

"Hi Marinette! Come on in!" He steps aside and places his hand to the small of her back to guide her in.

"Hello, Adrien. " She crosses the threshold and pauses for a moment. "My goodness! This place must be huge, the acoustics are incredible!" Her surprised voice echoes off the walls.

"Well… It's home." Her house feels much more like home to him than this place. Her small apartment above the bakery had so much warmth and activity and love, whereas his home was a constant echo. "My dad's waiting for us, let's go."

She collapses her cane, shoving it into her purse, and relies solely on Adrien's guidance. He knocks on his father's office door to alert him of their presence.

"Father, Marinette's here."

Without turning to address them, Gabriel waves them into the room. "Unfortunately, there are some issues at work I must deal with, so we will have to make today's meeting a short one."

He rummages through the papers on his desk, pulling out a large sheet that features a grey men's suit that matches the feathered hat Marinette had designed. He shifts the paper to lay on top of the mess on the desk.

"Tell me Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, what do you think of this design? Be honest. Considering we are basing the photoshoot around the hat you designed, we would like everything to fit into your vision." He crosses his arms and finally turns to look at Marinette for the first time. He stares down at the petite girl expectantly.

Adrien notices Marinette shifting uncomfortably with Gabriel's attention focused on her. He knows. His father's gaze is intense and predatory at times, and it creates a tension in the room you can feel. You don't need to see to know that Gabriel's stare is intimidating. He guides Marinette forward and pulls her hand to the page.

"It's a double breasted men's suit. It's grey, hard as concrete. There's a wreath of feathers on the lapel. Some are the same hard grey as the suit, some are purple and green, to match the feathers you'd find around a pigeon's neck. The purple and green are cooler shades. They're calm but bold colors, they compliment each other nicely and it looks wonderful against the grey color, like finding plants growing within the cracks of a sidewalk. An unexpected, but not unwelcome, surprise."

Gabriel's brow draw together as he observes the interaction and Adrien can't quite decipher the expression on his father's face. Marinette absorbs the information and allows the image to fill her mind. Gabriel studies the girl as she thinks and Adrien shifts his attention between the two of them.

"I think perhaps a lighter grey would be better, something that matches the softness of a pigeon. When I designed my hat, I was inspired by the cooing noise they made, so something that fits the softness of the sound. Also, I'm concerned that having the feather's on the lapel might look like they're trying to suffocate the model. The design shouldn't be inhibiting, but I do like the idea of incorporating feathers into the rest of the look. Maybe creating some feathered epaulettes would be good way to draw it all together and then bringing the green and purple colors into the lapel. It might also be better to switch the design from double breasted to single breasted. Double breasted suit tend to have a more formal feeling to them, I feel single breasted would enhance the playfulness of the look," Marinette says. Gabriel regards her for a moment.

"Mademoiselle, forgive my rudeness, but are you blind?" Gabriel asks. Adrien tightens his grip on Marinette's arm.

"Aaah... yes I am, M. Agreste." Marinette fidgets slightly.

"Huh." Gabriel turns away from Marinette to look at the sketch. "Very interesting."

Adrien doesn't know how to respond, neither does Marinette, so they allow the silence to fill the room as Gabriel studies the design.

"Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, I believe your observations are correct. I will redesign the look and give the new sketches to my son so that he may show you. Once we have your approval, she shall proceed. I appreciate you coming today to give your input, and I must apologize again for the shortness of this meeting, but I have other work related matters to deal with, so if you'll excuse me…" Gabriel steps behind the desk, sits, and resumes his work.

Adrien leans down to whisper in her ear that they can leave, and guides her from his father's office. Once the door clicks shut behind them Marinette lets out the breath she had been holding.

"Oh my god, my heart's pounding right now. I've never been so nervous in my life!" She presses her hand to her chest.

"You did wonderfully." Adrien starts the journey to his bedroom.

"I was a little surprised he didn't know I was blind," Marinette confesses. "I would've thought he had noticed when he was judging the competition."

"Well, he was judging over webcam, so it's kinda hard to catch some details. Plus, he gets really wrapped up in work, sometimes he just misses things." Adrien rationalizes.

"Anyways, thanks for helping me out."

"No worries. What are friends for?" Adrien opens the door to his room and ushers her inside.

"Where are we?"

"My room."

"Huh." Marinette clicks her tongue. "It's definitely less echoey than the rest of the house." She extends her hand out. "Can I?"

"Go for it."

Adrien places her hand against the wall and allows her to roam. He follows close behind.

She flops down when she finds his bed and gushes over his egyptian cotton sheets. She wants a set and he promises to get her some for her Birthday. She says she'll refuse such an extravagant gift, but he decides he'll get her some anyways.

She laughs when she finds the staircase, of course his room would have two floors. She's giddy when she stumbles into his closet. The high quality fabric and specialty stitching feel like heaven and she demands to be buried in his wardrobe so she can spend eternity wrapped in the comforts of the finest silk.

"Woah, what's this?" She asks when her hand brushes against an unusually bumpy wall.

"Rock climbing wall," he responds sheepishly.

Marinette giggles, "somehow I feel like I shouldn't be surprised anymore, yet I still am." She runs her hands along the rough, raised surface. She grabs onto a few of the holds experimentally. "Can I try it?"

Adrien tenses, "uhhh"

"I know it's hard to believe, but I'm a surprisingly good climber. Used to scale a lot of trees back in the day. "

Adrien sighs, knowing there's no chance she'll change her mind, it's better to just make sure she doesn't hurt herself. "Well, I can't stop you, but _please_ be careful."

She quickly toes off her shoes, then lifts the strap of her purse over her neck and gingerly places it on the ground. Adrien assumes her Kwamii is in the purse and smiles at the affection way Marinette gently pats the bag before standing and facing the wall. She wiggles her toes and reaches out, finding two good holds and lifting one of her legs to feel for another stone to place her foot.

Damn. He forgets how strong she is. As soon as she's off the ground, she moves quickly. Using all her limbs to find the best anchors and scaling the wall effortlessly.

She's Ladybug in this moment.

No. She and Ladybug are the same.

This is the courage and strength that led to her Kwamii picking her for such a task. He's always admired and envied her kindness and determination, and as he watches her climb, so carefree and full of joy, he thinks that she's the best person that could have been chosen to be Ladybug.

She's almost to the ceiling when her foot slips and she dangles from her arms.

"NO!" Adrien rushes forwards, positioning himself to break her fall. Marinette grunts and pulls herself up, finding a foothold and securing herself to the wall.

"I'm fine!" She calls down.

"Marinette, please come down!"

She pushes herself higher, "I'm almost to the top!"

"How do you know?"

"I can _feel_ it!"

She is close, he's not sure how she knows, but he doesn't want to doubt her. He grinds his teeth as she covers the last few feet to the top. Her hand collides with the ceiling and she finally stops.

"OH! I made it!" She calls.

The tension rolls off Adrien's shoulders when she starts laughing, clear and loud and so full of unbridled joy. His eyes never leave her as she makes her way down the wall, not as quickly, climbing down is much more difficult than climbing up. He finally fully relaxes when both her feet are solidly on the ground. Her face is pink from exertion and her chest rises and falls quickly, trying to pump air back into her lungs.

She claps her hands together, wiping away invisible dust. "Well, that was fun."

"That was horrifying," he scolds.

She scoffs, "you're such a scaredy cat, lighten up a little."

He gives a nervous laugh at her particular choice of words. She slips on her shoes and picks her bag off the floor, carefully slinging it across her shoulder.

"Can we keep our feet on the ground for the rest of today?" He pleads.

She raises her eyebrows in exasperation and lets out a puff of air, he's learned it's the Marinette equivalent of an eyeroll. "Fine," she agrees.

He plops her down in his desk chair while he goes to call on one of the staff to bring them snacks. When he returns, he find her running her fingers along the frames photos on his desk.

"These two are your favorite." She plucks two of the frames from the desk.

He glances at the ones she's picked. "How did you know?"

"The frames are more worn down than the others." She cradles the pictures in her lap, running the pads of her fingers along the glass forlornly. He crouches down next to her and places his hand over hers.

"This one is the photo," his finger taps on one of the frames, "Alya took the first time the four of us went out together."

"Oh! I remember, we went to that museum cause it had that audio tour and then had an impromptu picnic at the park." She smiles fondly at the memory.

Alya had organized the outing. She had heard the modern art museum had just created an app that would give audio tours to the 'visually impaired'. They had all downloaded the app and spent about ten minutes walking around listening to the dull voice drone on and on before they decided they could give Marinette a far more interesting tour. They took turns describing the sculptures and paintings in the most outlandish ways possible. Marinette was practically in tears from laughing so hard. The other museum patrons weren't very pleased by the behavior of the boisterous teens, so the group decided to leave before they were formally asked to vacate the premises.

None of them could agree on a place to eat, so they each got carry out and ate at the park. Alya had been faithfully documenting the whole day, but had decided they needed a group photo. Adrien had never taken a selfie before, he had been used to photos being meticulously planned. Honestly, he wasn't sure how to even take a group selfie. Unaware of his inner turmoil, Marinette had casually flung her arm across his shoulders and pulled him in, closing her eyes and smiling wide. She and Alya flashed matching peace signs, Alya had opted to look grumpy. Nino had gone cross eyed and had taken a strand of Alya's hair and held it under his nose as a temporary mustache. Adrien was a mess, he looked completely flustered, his eyes were wide, his mouth was open awkwardly, and his whole face and neck had gone red from embarrassment.

He loved everything about the photo.

"Alya described the photo to me, I love it so much. I just wish I had known we were all doing silly faces."

"We can always take another one." He wanted many more photos with them.

She placed the group photo back on the desk. "What about the other one?"

"It's a photo of my mother."

Marinette's hands froze on the glass, "oh"

Talking about his mother with Marinette somehow never made him sad. His mother would have loved Marinette. She would have pestered him daily about why he hadn't asked the girl out yet, he would have lied and said their relationship wasn't like that, but both of them would know the truth. He would have told his mother about all of his crazy excursions with his friends, she would have laughed for hours at the ridiculousness of it all. She would have insisted that his friends come over often. The house would be full of people constantly, she would have hosted hundreds of parties as an excuse to meet all of Adrien's classmates.

Telling Marinette about his mother kept her spirit alive, made it feel like she was still around.

"People say I look like her. We have the same hair and eye color, but besides that, I don't think we look very alike. She was a model too. I think you said once that my features were really defined?" Marinette nods. "Well, her features are _sharp._ She used to get tons of offers from companies, but she insisted on only working with my dad. She had the kindest eyes. They were so soft and full of love. Whenever she smiled, it lit up the room." He pauses and strokes the photograph.

They wind up sitting together on Adrien's couch, her legs casually flung over his, they pass an illegal bag of potato chips between them (one of the chefs had kept a secret stash of junk food for Adrien in case of emergencies). Adrien tells Marinette fond stories about his mother. How she would chase him around the house and they would drive his father crazy by occasionally running through his office. His mother loved plants, so they would garden together. She taught him to play piano. His father insisted that he keep up with the lessons, but it's not the same without his mother teaching him. Adrien had inherited his sense of humor from his mother. Marinette laughs at the jokes his mother used to tell, Adrien enjoys the sound filling his usually empty room.

"You have her smile." He confesses.

"Me?"

Yeah. When you smile, it makes other people want to smile with you." Marinette pinks at the compliment. "I wish you could have met her."

"I would have liked to meet her too." Marinette reaches out and finds his face, she cups his cheeks delicately. "I can tell she was a beautiful and wonderful person because she raised such an incredible person." She leans forward and places a soft kiss to his forehead.

Miraculously, Marinette always knows the best thing to say to him. She makes his heart feel full for the first time in years. Sometimes Adrien wondered if meeting Marinette had been some predetermined fate, or if he was just incredibly _lucky_.


	5. Chapter 5

I was hit in the face with inspiration at work the other day, and I ended up writing 3 pages of some pretty angsty stuff. whoops.

I feel like my chapters have been getting longer, which is interesting, I never really intended this to be more than just a series of ficlets, but i guess it's not really a bad thing.

I have a couple ideas on how to keep this going, trying to find a way to tie everything together.

* * *

It breaks her heart whenever Chat takes a hit for her.

Tikki had explained once that his suit was better designed for combat and defense. He always has a better chance of walking away from a brutal opponent than Ladybug would . Tiki hates the idea as much as Marinette, but she assured the young girl it's the way things have to be. Ladybug can't afford to get hit. She especially can't fall under the influence of an Akuma. Chat has no way of bringing her back.

Chat always puts on a brave face, reassuring her he's fine with a forced cheerful voice. But she can hear him straining, feel when he staggers from one too many bruises. Chat takes the physical toll of their work, she takes the emotional. Every injury Chat sustains under her watch is a piercing stab to her heart.

The more he gets hurt, the more she doubts her abilities. She should be stronger, better than this. Her partner shouldn't need to pick up her slack. Tiki scolds her when she contemplates passing the Miraculous to someone better; not just anyone can be Ladybug, they have to be carefully chosen, and Marinette is best suited to for the job. Despite Tikki and Chat's confidence in her, she still has lingering doubts.

She's faced with all of her fears when Dark Cupid shoots Chat with his arrow. Once again, he had thrown himself in front of her to block an attack, just before he had a chance to tell her something important. He had wrapped his arms around her protectively, but as soon as the arrow made contact, the gesture shifted with malicious intent. She broke away and he threw everything she had ever feared in her face.

 _Ladybug, I absolutely hate you._

 _I could never love someone like you._

 _You're weak without me._

 _You're an inconvenience._

 _You're the worst thing to ever happen to me._

 _My life would be far better without you._

She couldn't show weakness, not with Hawkmoth watching so closely. She hoped her face didn't betray her as his words sunk in, weighing heavily on her heart. She swallowed the persistent lump in her throat and blinked back tears as she forced herself to battle her beloved partner.

In her class earlier that day, they had discussed the magnitude of power and the common theme of "True Love's Kiss" in literature, and Marinette had gotten the insane idea to kiss her partner to break the spell. This Akuma took advantage of people's love for each other, perhaps the love she felt for her partner could be enough to save him.

So she tricked him into a kiss. The spell broke, and they finished the battle. Chat could scarcely remember what happened, just bits and pieces, but he insistently apologized, regretting every word that had left his lips after the arrow struck him. Ladybug had smiled and told him it wasn't a big deal, he should just forget about it.

Marientte would never forget.

She presses a pillow to her face, trying to stifle the sobs that rattle her body, Chat's harsh words echoing in her head. She doesn't want her parents to hear, but it's so hard to stay quiet when all she wants to do is scream. Tikki perches on her shoulder and nuzzles into Marinette's neck to comfort her as best as she can.

"Marinette, he didn't mean any of it. The Akuma's influence made him say the _exact_ opposite of what he really thought. Chat really cares for you." Tikki soothes.

Marinette takes a few stuttering breaths,"Not now Tikki," she chokes out.

"I know this was a really tough fight, but you two made it out…"

"Stop!" Marinette shoves her face into her hands, Tikki flits away from her shoulder and hovers in mid air. Marinette shakes her head frantically and starts pulling at her hair in frustration. "I don't wanna hear it!"

Tikki puffs up, slightly annoyed by her friend's stubbornness. "Marinette, I know you don't believe me, but you _are_ the best person to be Ladybug! There is no one else! You've already done so much for the city, I don't know why you keep getting hung up on things like this!"

"Why did you choose me?!" Her voice is raw, her lips quivers.

She clutches at the pillow on her lap, trying to control the few shuddering sobs that slip out. Tikki had seen Marinette at some of her worst moments, had known about the girl's deep ingrained insecurities, but she had never seen her this devastated. She looks so fragile, sitting hunched over, curling in on herself. Tikki thinks the girl could literally break in half with the weight of her sorrows crushing her.

She inhales shakily, her voice not more than a whisper. "Tikki, I'm… _. I'm blind_. I-I'm more of a liability than a hero." She swallows, contorting her face in such a painful way Tikki's heart sinks. "If I could… _see_ like everyone else, I wouldn't be such a burden. I wouldn't keep making these mistakes… and Chat," She inhales again. "Oh god, Chat was right. He's better off without me."

Marinette tries one final time to keep her emotions in check but she breaks. She throws herself face down onto her bed and wails into her pink comforter. She fights to catch her breath, inhaling sharply in quick succession to force air into her lungs, succumbing to the grief that she's internalized for so long.

She lets it consume her, it soaks into her bones, steeps in her heart. She wants to melt into her mattress. Disappear so people will stop taking pity on her. Scream until her voice is gone and she won't have to keep reassuring everyone she's fine.

Because she's not fine.

She had never resented her disability before she became Ladybug. She had always known she was going to struggle more than most people. She was going to have to put in more effort than most, she was going to have to rely on others her whole life. She had just managed to get comfortable maneuvering through life and then she met Tikki.

Sometimes, being Ladybug felt like an awful joke. It felt like the universe wanted her to struggle just a little bit more. Give her the responsibility to protect Paris, but if she made a mistake, someone would get hurt. People could die. She had never wanted people to pity her. Even more so, she didn't want the constant reminder of how inhibiting her blindness could be. She knew. Other people reminded her daily, but she didn't need the added burden of Ladybug's responsibilities.

Tikki could do no more to comfort her then gently rub at the hand that clung to the bedspread. She sent out small doses of her magic to try to calm Marinette, hoping the young girl would tire herself out soon and sleep some of her troubles away. She was sure that one day she would be able to help her little bug truly see just how important she really was, but now was not the time. Marinette needed time to lament. With Ladybug's powers came great moments of joy and sorrow, and Tikki would always be there to support her bugs no matter what.

Sabine woke Marinette early the next morning, reminding her of the photoshoot. Marinette had almost forgotten, Gabriel Agreste had invited her to the photoshoot that was centered around her hat design. She considered just blowing off the event, but Adrien had been so excited she was attending, she couldn't let him down.

Marinette dragged herself from bed and went to the kitchen. Her parents noticed her red, puffy eyes and asked if she was alright. She lied and said she had a nightmare and didn't sleep very well.

Sabine helped her get ready, she picked a dark green swing dress with a high neck that Marinette had designed and pulled her hair into a sweet yet professional bun. Marinette had worn makeup only a few times for special events, it was too much of a hassle for her to try to put on everyday, but she didn't want to look as tired as she felt today, so she asked her mom if they could possibly do something to fix that.

Sabine argues that today is a special occasion, it's not everyday that her daughter gets to attend a photoshoot, so she applies just a touch more makeup to bring out Marinette's beauty. She hums a lullaby, occasionally softly singing some of the words.

Marinette smiles when she recognizes the tune. Her mother used to sing the song to her whenever she had a nightmare as a child. She had never learned Chinese, so she didn't know what the words meant but it still comforted her. She hums along to her mother's singing. Her mother's quiet, soothing voice warms her heart and calms her. She forgets her duties as Ladybug and her troubles for a short while and just simply enjoys her mother's company.

Sabine sets her work with powder and places the brush on the vanity table. She cups Marinette's cheeks and admires her daughter. She kisses Marinette's forehead then pats her cheeks affectionately. "Beautiful, as always," she says.

Marinette places her hands over her mother's and holds them to her face for a moment longer. "Thanks maman."

When she gets to the studio, she's escorted from the lobby to right floor. The elevator doors open and Natalie is waiting to take her to Adrien.

"Mari!" He calls when he spots her. The sheer joy is his voice helps improve her mood even more. He rushes to Marinette's side, someone calls out to him, demanding he come back, she's not done with his makeup. He takes her hand and walks her to his station. "I'm really glad you could come." He releases her hand only so he can sit back in the chair and allow the makeup artist to finish.

"I'm glad you're father invited me. Is he here?"

"He doesn't usually come to photoshoots. Typically, he works with the same photographers and they all know what he likes, plus Natalie handles everything at these events, so he never feels like he has to come."

"Oh, that's unfortunate. I wanted to thank him for inviting me."

"You can thank him the next time you see him. He asked me recently if you were going to come over again soon, he'd like to see some more of your designs."

Marinette gapes at him, "r-really?"

"Yeah! He was really impressed with your ideas for the suit and how cohesive your whole vision was. I told him Alya had taken photos of all your other pieces and he said he wanted to see them and discuss your design process."

"You're kidding…"

"Dead serious."

Marinette laughs in delight, she could almost cry with joy. "I can't believe it!"

Adrien laughs with her. "I told you you were talented." The makeup artist finishes and shoos them away. "Speaking of talent, the suit looks amazing with your hat. Your input was spot on."

"Oh good! I got nervous for a moment, I thought maybe I was wrong about switching a few things."

His fingers brush lightly along her knuckles, "do you wanna see?"

"If you don't mind."

He takes her hand and places it on the sleeve of the jacket. He grabs her cane from her other hand so she can utilize both. It's a beautiful lightweight suiting wool, perfect for warmer weather, Gabriel had certainly taken her advice about the outfit not being inhibiting for the wearer. She glides her hands up his arms to find the feather epaulettes at the shoulders. She fluffs up the feathers a bit, giggling at the soft, unnatural texture. They're obviously fake, considering the model has an allergy to real feathers.

She feels for the lapel next, decides that single breasted was definitely the right choice, it suits Adrien more and feels more playful. She's wants to see the button up shirt and vest under the jacket, she moves her hand up his chest to feel for the collar at his neck, but her hand brushes against his collarbone and he tenses briefly and flinches away slightly.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" Marinette quickly draws her hand back.

Adrien grabs her wrist to stop her, "nah, don't worry. I have a bruise, it's no big deal."

"How'd you get a bruise there?"

"Oh… Um… You're gonna think I'm an idiot, but I fell out of bed yesterday and landed on a pile of textbooks. Hit me right in the chest, and a corner stabbed me in the collarbone."

Marinette smirks. "Want me to kiss it and make it better?"

"Oh! Ahh…" Marinette busts out laughing at his surprised, flustered tone. She's glad she came today. Adrien's company always makes her feel better. One of the assistant calls Adrien to the set, so he returns Marinette's cane and they make their way over.

Marinette sits patiently in a folding chair, listening to the frequent snapping of the camera and the hard bass of the music they've played to generate the mood. Some of the requests the photographer makes are a little outlandish. She's not sure how Adrien is supposed to convey the feeling "light as a feather" but somehow he succeeds, and the photographer snaps a hundred more photos. The commentary from the photographer is entertaining and time flies by as she listens.

At some point, Marinette's stomach starts rumbling. She can only imagine how hungry Adrien must be, he's actually doing work. She pulls out her phone and a small electronic voice tells her the time. She hears Natalie typing away on her tablet next to her and turns to address her.

"Don't you think it's time for a break? Adrien's been working for almost an hour now."

They tapping stops, "you're right, I hadn't realized it had been this long." Natalie stands and moves closer to the set. "Excuse me monsieur, but I think Adrien is due for a break." She calls to the photographer.

The clicking of the camera stops and someone turns down the music. "Ah yes, I could use a break as well. Everything was just going so well, I almost forgot. Everyone! We'll take a half hour break and then get right back at it!"

Everyone rushes around in a tizzy. The volume in the room increases and Marinette feels stranded in the sea of noise. She strains to find a familiar voice, something to focus on in the chaos of the crowded room. She jolts when a hand grips her arm lightly.

"Let's get out of here," Adrien says into her ear.

He leads them from the studio to an empty staircase just down the hall. He's gathered two small plates of food from the snack table, no one really eats a full meal at shoots, so they share the food between them.

"We're going out to lunch after this to eat real food, right?" Marinette pops a grape in her mouth. She pulls another grape from the bunch and tosses it into the air in Adrien's direction. She feels Adrien shift, aligning himself to catch the grape. His mouth snaps shut and he chews.

"Yeah, what are you in the mood for? Open." Marinette tilts her head back and opens her mouth. Adrien tosses a grape and it bounces off her nose. "Whoops!"

"Your aim sucks." She plucks another grape for herself. "Maybe pasta? We can sneak off and get you some carbs."

"Don't tempt me, Natalie would murder me for going off diet."

"I'll tell her you were a good little model and ordered a salad."

"Awww, you would lie for me?" Adrien says playfully.

"Of course, what are friends for?..." She trails off.

Adrien moves his plate from his lap and places it next to him then scoots a little closer. "Mari, what's wrong?"

Marinette scratches her thumbnail along the edge of the paper plate. She hadn't meant to think about last night again, but it had been a really rough night. It was one of those nights where she had started thinking about _everything_ and reevaluating her life. She was hoping she could move past some of the darker thoughts she had, but they kept popping back up, moving to the forefront of her mind until it got to the point where it's the only thing she can focus on. They're dangerous thoughts. If any of her friends had similar thoughts, she would scold them instantly for even thinking such a thing and assure them they couldn't be more wrong. But she's never been one to take her own advice.

She lets out a long breath and pauses. He waits. "Why… are you friends with me?"

"There's a lot of reasons? What's this about?"

It's so hard for her to even ask out loud, her voice barely reaches above a whisper, "do you ever think I'm a burden?"

Adrien sucks in air harshly, "oh God no! Why would you think such a thing?"

"I started contemplating some things last night, and… I don't know, I started thinking maybe I was just a hassle to be around. Everyone does so much to help me out, and I can't really repay the favor. It doesn't seem very fair."

Marinette can feel his eyes on her. He moves to grab her hand and holds it delicately, just she had done for him many times before. "Do you remember when we first met?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You were the first friend I had ever made. I mean, I had Chloe, but Chloe had just decided we were going to be friends. Her friendship was more… superficial. She never treated me the same way she treated Sabrina. It never really felt real to me. But then I met you, and your friendship felt as real as it could get. I didn't know how to have friends or how to go to school, or do a lot of things. You were so patient with me and you helped me do so much. I used to worry I was a burden on you, so I tried so hard to pay back your kindness." He brings her hand to his face and places a kiss on her knuckles, her face flares at the gesture. "Your friendship is invaluable to me, I hope you know."

Marinette gives a small sigh of relief, "I know"

"And don't you ever doubt that."

* * *

"I should tell her."

Adrien anxiously paces around his room, constantly dragging his hands through his hair, trying to sort out his thoughts. He's been hiding this for too long, he needs to tell her the truth. Right? It's only fair. He knows, she might as well know. It would make life significantly easier for both of them, and they could finally be completely honest with each other.

Plagg watches the boy walk back and forth from the comfort of the couch. He nibbles on some camembert as his chosen mumbles to himself, weighing the pros and cons of revealing himself to his partner. He wants to suggest the boy stop pulling at his hair so much, he's gonna start ripping it out soon, and Gabriel will be cross about it. But it's not a priority.

"I think that's the worst idea right now." Plagg doesn't actually expect Adrien to pay attention to him, the boy is too engrossed in his own thoughts, so he's surprised when Adrien's head snaps up to him.

"I need to tell her!" Adrien throws his arm up in exasperation. "She's torturing herself right now cause of what I said under Dark Cupid's influence! If I just told her I was Chat Noir and I know she's Ladybug, I could tell her that everything I said during that time was a total lie. I could comfort her. And maybe I could finally tell her I….. L-love her."

Adrien had never actually admitted his feelings out loud. He had thought it about a hundred times, but saying out loud was a whole nother experience. Before the arrow had hit him, he had the crazy notion that he was going to tell Ladybug he loved her. It was ludicrous, honestly, but he had heard some gossip that had put him on edge and he just _had_ to tell her.

Recently, Chloe told Adrien she had heard a very interesting rumor. Nathan was planning on asking Marinette out on a real date. Not a Hawkmoth sponsored date, but a real _real_ date. Adrien didn't know if it was just a rumor or if the young artist was actually planning on asking Marinette out, either way, Adrien felt it his responsibility to protect her. He didn't want her to be the subject of gossip, and he definitely didn't want her to struggle emotionally. She couldn't agree to a date if her heart belonged to another, it just wasn't Marinette's nature. She would feel guilty for turning the boy down or accepting and thinking about her crush the whole time. It wasn't that Adrien was jealous, he just didn't want Mari to feel bad.

Okay, he was jealous.

 _Really_ jealous.

The idea of telling Marinette that he loved her was absolutely terrifying. He had been trying to work up the courage for a while, but this was way more than just a confession of love. He was going to have to tell her _everything._ Would she be disappointed when she learned he was Chat? Would she still have feelings for him after finding out who he was? Sure she liked Adrien, but they were just friends.

His jealousy had compelled him to tell her the truth. It would've been easier as Chat. He wouldn't have to reveal his identity quite yet. And something about wearing a mask made it easier for him to be bolder. He was confident that if he confessed as Chat he wouldn't be rejected, but he didn't have a chance to find out.

"Yeah, right. This is exactly what she needs," Plagg scoffs. "She's having a crisis right now, and then her best friend tells her he's Chat Noir, the boy she's not so subtly been crushing on, and he's known her secret for a really long time. That's gonna go down well."

Adrien groans loudly, collapsing onto his knees in front of the couch. He props his elbows on the seat and shoves his face into his hands then rubs at his temples, trying to ease the pounding headache that's built up from over thinking and stress.

He runs his hands down his face. "Plaaaggg, what am I supposed to do?"

"Well, for starters, you could stop doing stupid things like throwing yourself in harms way all the time."

"I can't just sit back and watch her get hurt. You said it yourself, my suit's better equipped to take hits."

"You gotta start looking for more ways to get both of you out of the way. Just avoid the heartache altogether."

"But what do I do to help her now? She's obviously really torn up about this."

"I think you handled it well today. Really kid, you said the right thing. I think she needed reassurance from her friend more than her partner." Plagg's not one to give praise often. Adrien's a little taken aback at Plagg's sincerity.

"You sure?"

"Paw-sitive, kid."

Adrien chuckles at the Kwami. He sometimes forgets Plagg's sense of humor is similar to his. The moment passes quickly when a realization hits him and his face drops.

"We have patrol tonight," Adrien dead pans.

"So? You usually look forward to patrols."

Adrien drags his hands through his hair then down his face. "Not when she probably hates me and I have no idea what I'm gonna say to her."

Plagg abandons his cheese to fly over and hover in front of Adrien. "Look at me," Plagg locks eyes with Adrien and holds his attention. "It's gonna be fine. Follow your gut, say what she needs to hear. And don't do anything stupid."

After transforming, Chat rushes to their meeting spot. She's already waiting for him, he approaches cautiously from behind, noting the way her shoulders are slightly more rigid than usual. She's nervous.

"Hey Chat," she doesn't turn to address him.

He falters for a second. God, she must really hate him. "Ladybug, can we talk for a second?"

"If this is about yesterday, I told you it wasn't a big deal."

"It is a big deal! I know I wasn't really in control yesterday, but I said some awful things. I really wish I could take them all back, but I can't..."

She finally turns, "Chat..."

"Let me finish," he holds up a finger to stop her, forgetting that the gesture doesn't really mean anything to her. "Everything I said yesterday was as far from the truth as you can get. You are absolutely incredible, I'm always amazed at how brave and strong you are. You do such wonderful things for Paris, and working alongside you has been an absolute pleasure. I'm in love with you, and being your partner is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. My life and so many other people's lives are far better because you are in it."

Her eyebrows furrow in confusion. Her mouth opens and closes a few times as she tries to decide what to say. "What did you just say?"

"Um.. People's lives are better because you're in it?"

"No, before that."

Chat tries to remember his little speech word for word. Had he said something to make it worse? He had spoken so quickly, trying to correct all of the awful things he had said. He reassured her she wasn't useless, that She's strong, she's needed. He definitely doesn't hate her...

 _I'm in love with you._

Oh _._

"Shit."

* * *

Woah, plot twist! I wrote a cliff hanger!

I hate cliffhangers and promised myself I'd never write one, but I'm also a terrible liar...

my tumblr is malibumomner

come kick my ass


	6. Chapter 6

I almost posted this chapter before I wrote Marinette's reaction, but I felt like it wasn't complete without it.  
A million thanks for everyone who has been leaving such nice comments or have been stopping by my tumblr to kick my ass (each ass kicking motivates me to clear my writers block and keep going so muchos gracias.)  
The reveal is going to happen soon I have it all planned, I'm just trying to figure out how to get us there.

* * *

Plagg has never been particularly good at dealing with people. Between the two of them, Tikki had always been far better at handling emotional situations. All of her bugs tended to need a little more guidance, Ladybug's job was a huge responsibility, and Tikki was always patient with them.

When Plagg picked his kittens, he usually just picked people with a general "go with the flow" personality. It always seemed to work out in his favor. Especially with Adrien. When he had presented the opportunity to Adrien, the boy hadn't even thought twice, he transformed before Plagg had a chance to finish explaining everything.

He wasn't completely heartless, when things got serious, or when his kittens needed a little reassurance, he was prepared to offer help the best he could.

But this was completely unfamiliar territory.

Adrien hadn't moved in over an hour. He was sitting on the couch, completely rigid, just staring off into space. Plagg could count the number of times he caught the boy blinking on one paw, which wasn't saying much. He had been tempted to hold a mirror under the boy's nose to make sure he was still breathing. Plagg had tried multiple tactics to try to get a reaction: knocking items off tables, scratching at the couch, attacking Adrien's feet, but nothing seemed to be working.

The boy had gone completely _cat_ atonic.

Okay, puns were definitely not going to help the situation, but it at least made Plagg feel better.

Immediately after his untimely confession, Chat ran like the devil himself was hot on his tail, blindly moving just to put distance between him and Ladybug. Ladybug had called to stop him, but Chat couldn't get out of there fast enough. When he burst through his bedroom window, Plagg had released the transformation, and Adrien wordlessly dropped to the couch. He hadn't moved since.

Plagg nudges Adrien's cheek, "Kid, you're seriously starting to freak me out. Say something."

Adrien seems to finally register this and blinks rapidly for a few seconds to focus again. His body is still tense, he swivels his whole torso to look at Plagg, obviously still not in control of his whole body.

"Plagg, I think I messed up."

Plagg lets out a deep breath, "That's an understatement, kid."

"I fucked up."

"That you did."

Adrien freeze up again and Plagg worries he's going to slip back into his weird trance. Adrien's eyes get impossibly wide, "Ooohh my god" he breathes before he hunches over.

He shoves his face between his knees and locks his fingers behind his neck. Plagg figures hyperventilating is better than silence, but Adrien looks like he's on the verge of a full on panic attack. It takes a lot of coaxing from Plagg, but Adrien finally manages to breathe normally again.

"What am I going to do?" Adrien wheezes.

Telling Adrien to follow his gut had obviously been a mistake, but Plagg can't make all of his decisions for him. Even Plagg isn't sure the best way to resolve this. If only Tikki were here. Hopefully she's talking Ladybug through this issue, and everyone was just over reacting. Tikki is going to convince Ladybug that this isn't a big deal, and everyone is going to move past this quickly.

But that's just hopeful thinking on Plagg's part.

Plagg throws his head back and groans. "I don't know how to help you through this one. I told you not to do anything stupid and you didn't listen to me."

Adrian's hands fall from their place behind his neck, his hands thump against the floor and lanky arms dangle uselessly. His head remains firmly between his legs as he focuses on breathing.

Plagg softens a bit, the poor boy looks utterly defeated and it doesn't help to get snarky with him. He lands on the coffee table to be closer to Adrien.

"Look at me," Plagg demands. Adrien makes no move at first, then slowly raises his head to make eye contact with the tiny creature. "We don't know how bad you messed up. You ran before you and Ladybug had a chance to talk." Adrien moans and drops his head. "Hey, I'm not done! Look at me." Plagg forces Adrien to raise his head again. His eyes are a little lack luster and glassy, but Plagg will ignore that. "You're freaking out right now cause you don't know how Ladybug is reacting, and you won't know how she took the news until you _talk_ to her. There's not much you can do tonight, so it's gonna have to wait till tomorrow. I say, you get a good night's sleep, go to school, clear your head, and then try calling Ladybug tomorrow to talk. Sound good?"

Adrien blinks a few times, "yeah. I guess," he grumbles.

Plagg tugs on the front of his shirt to guide Adrien from the couch to his bathroom so he can take care of his nightly routine. Once the boy is properly washed and clothed, Plagg guides him to bed. He flops on the mattress and Plagg tugs the blanket up over his limp body. Plagg plops down onto the pillow near Adrien's head and watches as his breathing slows, chest rising and falling in even controlled movements. Plagg doesn't sleep until he's sure his kitten is sufficiently knocked out.

Adrien's dead on his feet the next day. He had slept fitfully after a whole night of dreams of his lady. But not the good kind of dreams. It doesn't help his nerves. He's definitely dreading the moment they have to talk, but it's entirely necessary.

His head shoots up off his desk the second he hears the familiar tapping cane when she enters the room. He's almost too nervous look, afraid he'll see pain and confusion etched on her face. She strolls in chatting happily with Alya, discussing another crazy argument that took place on the Ladyblog forum. His body relaxes in relief when he hears her light laughter twinkling through the room.

"Hello ladies, " Nino croons next to him, wiggling his brows.

Alya releases Marinette for a moment to give her boyfriend a quick kiss. Adrien leans forward slightly to study Marinette. She doesn't look upset. Most of the time he can see past her brave face and make out if she's being genuine or not. She looks tired, but he can't be sure if that's his fault, Adrien shuffles awkwardly to his feet to help escort Marinette to her seat.

He clears his throat, it's so dry. "Good morning, Marinette."

A light link dusts her cheeks and she swallows loudly. "Good morning."

Why was she blushing? He'd been sure she would feel uncomfortable around Chat but not Adrien. Unless, he's managed to upset her as Adrien too. He wouldn't put it past himself, he seems to be full of mistakes lately.

She reaches out to grab at his arm. She tenses at the contact, not enough for most people to notice, but they've fallen into such a pattern he notices immediately. He takes her up the few steps to her seat and makes sure she's settled before returning to his.

Alya sits and immediately engages the group in a conversation about the drama on the Ladyblog. Adrien's a little grateful for the distraction, but he would also like to ask Marinette if something was wrong. He can handle Mari being upset at Chat Noir, but he couldn't handle it if she was angry with his civilian self.

Class is a nightmare, he can barely focus. It's surprising that the teacher doesn't send him to the principal's office, he's very obviously distracted. A multitude of thoughts race around his head: what had he done to upset Marientte? What was Chat going to say to Ladybug? Should he talk to Mari? Would Ladybug even answer if he called?

Black cats are notoriously a sign of bad luck, a stereotype he had personally taken great offense to, but lately he had an abundance of bad luck and he can only curse the tiny cat creature consuming cheese in his bag.

Muffled screams float into the room. The classroom falls silent as people strain to hear the noise.

An Akuma attack. Just his luck.

His class mates rush from their seats to the door, Alya leads the pack, phone already out. Nino runs after her, muttering some choice words about his insane girlfriend. Their teacher calls to them, commanding they stay in their seats, but when the building rattles, she follows them from the room. Adrien and Marientte are the only two left in the room.

"Adrien, you should go find Nino and Alya and bring them back here. I think it's safer if we stay here. " Marinette suggests.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll stay here and keep the door locked until you bring them back." She's lying.

"Okay, I'll be back. Stay here."

"Be careful!" He hopes she's not lying.

He rushes from the room and makes a hard left. The soles of his shoes squeal against the tiles as he slides past the bathroom. He adjusts his footing and burst through the doors. He rips open his bag and calls Plagg to transform. It would be strange for Chat Noir to emerge from the school's bathroom, so he exits from the window and scales the wall until he's on the roof. Ladybug swings in not a moment later. He keeps his eyes downcast, not quite brave enough to face her yet.

"Hey bugaboo," he says sheepishly.

She gives a swift nod. She's strictly business now. "Have you seen what we're up against?"

"Not yet. I just got here."

He scans the area, looking for any signs of danger. The courtyard is absolute pandemonium; faculty ushering students to exits, students toppling over one another to get to safety. Chat spots Alya on the stairs, her camera trained on the heroes while Nino yanks on her arm to get her to move. But there's no sign of the mysterious Akuma.

"Are you picking up anything?"

Her face scrunches in concentration as she scans the area, pushing with her enhanced hearing to track the location of the Akuma. "I think they're in the music room..."

A piercing wail cuts her off, the force of the noise rattles the school. Windows shatter and students in the courtyard collapse, hands over their ears. The high pitched grating note makes Chat wince and slap his hands over his own ears. Through squinted eyes, he sees Ladybug on her knees doubled over. Her body convulsing in pain as the shrill voice continues to ring through the area.

 _Oh shit._

He throws himself over her body, disregarding the ear-splitting screams, and clamps his hands over her ears to help her block out the noise. He curls tightly around her, covering her as much as he can to alleviate the pain, but her enhanced hearing amplifies everything. The voice falls silent. Many of the students recover quickly and resume evacuating the grounds, helping others who can't quite get the ringing in their ears to stop. Chats ears ring duly, everything sounds muffled, but he can feel his Kwami's Magic working to repair the damage.

Chat pulls his hands from her ears, "LB, you okay?"

She groans and drags herself up so she rest on her knees. She rubs the pain away from her ears.

"Ladybug, are you alright?" She moves her hands away from her ears.

"Chat?!" She practically shouting, her voice frantic.

He panics and grips her shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"I can't hear anything!"

 _Shit._

The Akuma bursts into the courtyard. the few lingering students dodge flying debris, ducking and covering their heads until the dusts settles and they scramble to safety. The villain steps from the clearing dust menacingly, scanning the area to find it's target.

"Come out, come out wherever you are! You can't hide from Maestro!" The akuma taunts. Chat snorts.

Maestro looks like a caricature of a French Dandy. Obnoxiously puffy pantaloons with high stockings, a jacket with ridiculously long coattails, and hair piled comically high. Chat had never actually met the school's choir conductor, but he had heard enough stories to know that only she would make an Akuma this exuberant.

She aims her baton towards the roof where Chat crouches to help Ladybug. She flourishes it, bouncing it rhythmically to set her tempo before she opens her mouth and sings. The air ripples as the sound waves moves towards them. Chat grabs Ladybug's hand and yanks her up before taking off with her in tow.

The school rumbles at the force of the impact. Large chunks of roof fall to the ground and smash against the concrete. Maestro aims again and let's out another yowl. Chat runs faster to avoid, Ladybug faithfully follows his lead. So far, out running the attacks seems to be working, although, he realizes they're rapidly running out of roof and he needs a new plan.

He halts and grabs her waist. She instinctively wraps her arms around his neck and he vaults them away from the school with his baton. They move quickly, the Akuma won't be far behind, and they really need a moment to plan. He lands in an empty street, hoping they can prevent more civilians getting involved.

"We need a plan!" Ladybug shouts too close to his ear and he winces. "Sorry!" She apologizes when she senses his reaction. Of course, she can't hear so she has no volume control.

He steps away from her and paces a few feet. Her head follows his motions back and forth and he sighs in relief. She had a habit of facing people whenever she interacted with them, despite the fact that she didn't need to. As Ladybug, maintaining the contact was to protect her secret, as Marinette she had only assumed it was the polite thing to do. If she can follow his movements now, it means that she can still rely on her sense of smell and the feel of vibrations to see. Now it was only the matter of communication.

Oh! Charades! He snaps his fingers with the realization. She perks at the action. Good, he's captured her attention. He holds up a finger to her and then taps it against the side of his head.

"You have an idea?" She guesses.

He nods.

"What is it?"

He pinches his fingers and thumbs together and places his hands side by side. He carefully separates his hands, keeping his fingers pinched to show he's indicating something long and thin. He pretends to hold a baton in one hand and waves it dramatically.

"Her baton? Oh! The Akuma in her baton!"

He claps in excitement and gives an encouraging thumbs up. Then he pulls his own baton from its holster and gestures to it then himself. He points at her and mimes when she summons Lucky Charm.

"You distract, and I summon Lucky Charm?" He nods again. "Pretty simple, but it'll work for now."

He shrugs, it's the best he can come up with. She's usually the brains behind the operation, he's just there to follow her orders. She tenses and whips her head in the direction they had just come from.

"She's coming!"

Chat whirls around and extends his baton, falling easily into a defensive pose. Maestro casually struts into the deserted street. She doesn't seem to regard the heroes as much of a threat. She raises her baton again, aiming straight for the two of them, and sings a low rumbling note. The ground beneath Chat and Ladybug shakes. They struggle to regain proper footing before they both jump out of the way.

Wasting no time,Chat rushes at the enemy, dodging some small sound waves she directs towards him. He lands a blow to her gut with his staff, sending her flying backwards into the wall of a building. Behind him Ladybug summons Lucky Charm and he turns to see what object the spell generated.

His temporary distraction gives the Akuma just enough time to let out another unfiltered scream. Chat wails as the sound resonates through his head, making his eardrums pound and leaving him clutching his ears. The pain is unbearable. His legs weaken and he drops to his knees. He almost envies that Ladybug's hearing is temporarily useless. He feels comforting hands slide onto his shoulders to sit him up. Familiar hands pull his own away from his head and something is pushed into his ears. The screams stop.

Wait, he can't hear anything.

He looks up at Ladybug and she gestures at her own ears. Tentatively, he pokes in his ear and feels an earplug he can only assume is decorated red and black.

He knows the Akuma is still singing, he can feel the force of the sounds waves pushing back on his body, but not being able to hear her voice lessens the severity of the attack.

 _Purr_ fect.

Chat flashes Ladybug a thumbs up and she returns the gesture. In a second, they simultaneously turn to Maestro and take off, dashing headfirst towards the enemy. She snaps her mouth shut and takes a startled step back. Realizing neither of the heroes can hear her anymore, she instantly shifts, firing concentrated doses of sound waves at the pair. Chat veers left, Ladybug swings right. Maestro keeps firing between the two, her powers significantly less potent now that she can only aim at one object at a time. She struggles to keep them at bay, but they slowly advance on her. Chat marvels at the efficiency of the ear plugs, although fighting without his ability to hear feels a little limiting. Even so, he and Ladybug work flawlessly together.

Ladybug throws her yoyo. Rather than evading, the Akuma blasts the attack away and Chat takes advantage to pounce. With her back turned to him, Maestro doesn't see Chat run up and knock her baton from her hands with his own. The stick goes flying, Ladybug dives to snatch it up from the ground and swiftly snaps it over her knee.

She casts her cleansing spell and the city quickly repairs itself. Chat rushes over and grasps Ladybug's shoulders. "My Lady, can you hear me?"

"Crystal clear, Chaton." He breathes a deep sigh of relief and pulls her in for a hug. Her hands hesitantly wrap around him, but she soon sinks into the embrace. Her earring gives off a warning beep and she yanks herself back. "We need to talk."

His eyes flash to her earrings. She's down to two dots. "LB, we don't have time."

"We've got five minutes."

"No, we don't." He bends to scoop her up. She gives a startled yelp and clutches to him. He takes off running towards the closest , tallest building he can spot. He doesn't like leaving the Akumazed civilian alone after they transform back, typically they're a little dazed and need some guidance, but considering the situation, he'll have to leave them to the authorities this time. Her earring starts beeping more frantically, her one minute countdown.

"Oh Shit! Chat!" She panics and he runs faster.

She shifts herself so her legs wrap around his waist and she clings around his neck so he can freely use his arms. He scales the building, moving faster than he ever has in his life, claws digging into the brick as he throws them up towards safety. They've been in this situation before, except the roles had been reversed. He remembers that day vividly, it's what started this whole mess; all the extra secrets, more lies, more heartache. He wants to laugh at the irony of it all, but fear has turned his blood to ice and he can't do more than force air into his aching lungs as he pushes and pulls with all of his might to get them to the secluded roof.

He vaults over the ledge just as light envelops her. He drops to the ground and shoves his back against the ledge, she presses herself closer to him and buries her face in his neck. He can feel her heart beating as rapidly as his. She's shaking.

"I won't look. I promise." He's kept his eyes trained on the sky, it wouldn't matter if he looked, he already knows the truth, but he doesn't want to give her any reason to doubt his loyalty to her. She nods, he feels the movement along his neck. "Neither of us could hear the beeping, we must have missed the first few warnings." She only nods again.

They sit tangled together, the air around them is tense and awkward. From the corner of his eye he sees a little spark of red flash then vanish. Her hears her purse click open and the smell of cookies taunts him. Her Kwami must love sweet things. He's jealous, cookies would be better to carry than cheese.

He's grateful he hadn't used cataclysm during the battle. The last thing either of them needed right now was both of them huddled together on a rooftop without their masks. He should count his blessings, things could have been worse. He doesn't know how to start this conversation. His big mouth had only made things worse. She wants to talk, he can feel it. She's just trying to build up the courage. He rubs soothing circles on her lower back, to help comfort her and assure her he's patient, he'll wait until she's ready to speak.

"Did you mean it?" She breathes against his skin.

His motions on her back stop. It feels like he's wearing the earplugs again, or the world has suddenly muted itself. But he can hear her breathing, his blood pulsing in his ears. What does he say to fix everything?

The truth.

"Yes." They both stop breathing. Not sure what more to say, he waits for her lead.

She takes a deep, shuddering breath, "Why did you run?"

Why _did_ he run? Admittedly, he had panicked and instincts told him to high-tail it out of there, but there had also been another feeling that had rooted itself in his gut. The feeling had been growing for weeks, since the day he had found out his Princess was Ladybug. He had tried to suppress it. Avoided talking or thinking about it, afraid it might consume him. It was the reason he had wasted so much time telling Marinette the truth about everything.

"I was afraid," he whispered, embarrassed to admit it out loud.

"Why?"

He cradles a clawed hand against the back of her head, she presses closer to him, sensing his nerves and need for comfort. "I was afraid you'd be disappointed."

Her face distorts against his neck. He can imagine the confusion that must be passing across her features. "Why would I be disappointed?"

Because there was nothing spectacular about Adrien Agreste. Because he was nothing more than a rich boy with a pretty face. Because his only redeemable quality was he could transform into Chat Noir when duty called. Other than that, he was nothing.

"Because... The real me isn't as exciting as Chat Noir. If you knew who I really was, you'd be disappointed."

She huffs, "I don't believe that for a second." She nuzzles her face into his neck like she's trying to erase his fear. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course."

"When we first started working together, I insisted that we keep our identities a secret from each other cause I thought you wouldn't want to be partners if you knew I was blind."

"I would never!"

"So you're saying it was rude of me to make assumptions about how you would react?"

 _Oh._

"I see your point."

She chuckles, " I think we can both agree that we need to stop making assumptions about each other. And we also need to stop being so hard on ourselves."

"Easier said than done."

"True. But we have to start eventually, why not now?"

He smiles to the sky. The earlier awkwardness has completely dissipated and now he can fully enjoy having her sitting in his lap, snug against him. She relaxes in his arms, it's so comfortable he can almost imagine taking a nap together. It's incredibly tempting to rub his face against hers and purr, but he doesn't want to make things awkward again. Plus, they haven't completely fixed everything.

"So... What now?"

She tenses just a bit but settles quickly. "You're not ready for me to know you yet," She decides. "It's too soon, you need to decide when you're ready."

His heart falters, "Does that mean you're ready for me to see you?"

She's surprisingly calm, he envies her. His heart beats erratically as he awaits her response.

"Not today but eventually, yes. You already know my biggest secret. My secret identity is not as impressive." He about to correct her but she chuckles, "not that I'm saying my civilian self isn't impressive, I'm just saying _that_ particular secret isn't as exciting as finding out one of Paris's amazing duo is blind."

"So when can I know?"

"When you're ready to tell me."

He sighs, "fair enough. So what's next?

"When Tikki's charged up again. I'll transform, we'll part ways until the next patrol, and we'll go back to being the best partners Paris has ever seen."

"And after that?"

She gives him a light, playful pinch, he laughs. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," she says.

A small tinkling voice creeps out of her bag, announcing that Ladybug can transform again. Chat had expected to close his eyes and allow Marinette to stand, but she calls to her Kwamii and transforms in his lap. It's a rather strange experience, he can feel the familiar heat enveloping her, starting from her toes and working its way up. It's a much more gradual, pleasant sensation than when her transformation wore off. When she finally pulls away, he moves his eyes from the sky to finally look at her face. Her cheeks are as red as her mask. He idly realizes they had been sitting in a rather compromising position, and she's still in his lap, yet she makes no effort to move.

"J-just so you know, I l-love you too, Chat."

A grin spreads across his face, "I know." Of course he knew, she's never been one to be subtle about her feelings.

"Good." She catches him off guard by giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "Just wanted to make sure you knew." She stands and offers a hand to him. He takes it and she helps him stand before bidding him farewell and flying off, leaving him with his face as red as her suit.

* * *

Hearing Chat's confession had been everything she had dreamed of. Except the moment she had processed his words, another name had popped into her mind.

 _Adrien._

Why had she thought of him? Why had her heart sunk into her stomach?

She had spent an embarrassing amount of time daydreaming about the moment when she and Chat would boldly confess their love for one another, and it had actually happened! And yet, she thought of another.

Once Chat had run off, she finished patrolling by herself, taking advantage of the solitude to contemplate. She loved Chat, she really truly did! How could she not? He was an incredible partner, confident but not obnoxious, charming and witty, so compassionate and selfless, and she loved everything about him. But the more she had thought about it, the more she realized Adrien had similar qualities. She kept trying to shake the comparison from her mind, desperate to figure out why her brain was dead set on bringing up Adrien whenever she thought of Chat's confession.

Could it be she had fallen in love with Adrien?

There was no way, Adrien was just her friend. She wouldn't fall in love with her friend, right?

But then again, Chat had started as 'just a partner' and look where that had led.

Poor Tikki had to hold onto the transformation for so long, Marinette had lost track of time and wandered aimlessly until the early hours of the morning. By the time she had dropped in through her window, she only had time to get a solid hour of sleep. Waking up for school had been a chore, she forced herself from bed and dragged herself to class. Alya had managed to wake her up a bit by chatting about some entertaining Ladyblog drama. The moment she heard Adrien's voice, her pulse fluttered and her heart pounded like a kick drum.

Oh god, she had a crush on Adrien too.

How could her life get so complicated? It wasn't enough that she was a superhero, but to fall for her partner _and_ her best friend was simply too much. To top everything off, Hawkmoth had decided to send out a doozy of a Akuma that day. The shrieking villain had _hurt_! She utterly hated fighting sound manipulating Akumas with a deep passion, but this one was the absolute worst! De-transforming earlier than she expected hadn't helped improve her day either. Fortunately for her, things had worked out well. She had been tempted to let Chat see her that day, but she wasn't 100% ready. She still had to fully sort out her feelings.

Somehow she manages to be the first to get back to the classroom. Tikki releases the transformation and Marinette hustles to her seat and waits patiently for her classmates to slowly start trickling in. It's not long before someone bursts into the room. Heavy labored breathing fills the room awkwardly as the mysterious person tries to catch their breath.

"Mari, you okay?" Adrien pants.

"Adrien!" She shouts in relief. She had been so concentrated on the battle, she forgot to check if Adrien was safe during the fight. "I'm fine, are you alright?"

He approaches, still slightly out of breath, "I'm fine. Just had no luck finding Alya or Nino. By the time I found them the attack was over. They're already heading home. Classes are canceled for the rest of the day."

"Aw, that's too bad. We had physics next, I know you love physics."

He laughs and helps her pack up her bag. "I do enjoy physics. But I prefer having an unscheduled afternoon off more." She slings her bag over her shoulder and he lightly bumps his arm against hers. "Can I walk you home?"

"Sure, " she carefully reaches out and grabs his arm. Her heart skips a beat when he pulls her against his side.

It didn't seem fair to have feelings for two people. It almost feels like she's cheating, which is crazy considering she's not in a relationship with either of the boys, but it still feels dishonest. Dating Adrien had never crossed her mind before. They had always been such good friends, romance never seemed like an option. Plus, Adrien was a model, he deserved a gorgeous girlfriend, not some simple girl.

She immediately mentally reprimands herself for that thought. She had just finished telling Chat that they needed to be more confident in themselves, and calling herself simple was a bad way to start.

"Mari, you doing okay?" Adrien interrupts her thoughts.

She forces a laugh. "Totally fine! Why do you ask?"

Adrien kicks a small rock in their path, she hears it scatter across the pavement before settling a few feet away. "You're being awfully quiet. And you've been acting kinda weird since this morning? I thought maybe I said something that upset you at the shoot the other day..."

The photoshoot feels like a lifetime ago. With everything that had happened since then she had almost forgotten the conversation she had with Adrien. He had said such wonderful things about her and she could help but marvel at his compassion. She tugs at his arm to get him to stop walking.

She bites her lip as she thinks of a decent enough excuse. "You didn't say anything wrong, I was just... Embarrassed that I threw all of that at you. I didn't mean to doubt our friendship but..."

"Doubt gets the best of all of us, don't worry about it, " he nudges a hip against her, she nudges back. "So we have an afternoon free, what should we do?"

"We could study."

Adrien groans dramatically and let's his arms go limp. "That's stuuuupid."

Marientte laughs and pulls on his arms to keep him moving. He stands firm, fighting against her tugging, grumbling about not wanting to think anymore.

"Fine. Lazy bum, what do you wanna do?" She admits defeat.

"We could watch another episode of that show."

"The Japanese one?"

"Yeah, I'll read the subtitles for you and act out all the cool action scenes."

"Alright, but you have to do all the funny voices too."

Adrien barks out a laugh, "deal."

Marinette's parents alway love feeding Adrien. His appetite almost rivals Tom's and Adrien's always eager to try new products for the bakery. Sabine usually tries to sneaks a few extra pastries into Adrien's bag when he's not looking, he returns the Tupperware the next day with his thanks. Her parents are surprised when she eats just as much as Adrien today but make no comment. Sabine sends them upstairs with a plate of cookies to share as they relax.

True to his word, Adrien enthusiastically acts out and describes battle scenes from the show. He reads the subtitles in the wackiest voices, Marienette's laughter ruins the serious moments, but she can tell Adrien is proud of himself for getting her to laugh.

Their hands brush together when they reach for a cookie at the same time. It takes all of her willpower not to immediately yank her hand back. She doesn't want to worry Adrien again. He merely takes a cookie from the plate and presses it against her palm.

"Oh, thanks."

"No problem. " he grabs a cookie for himself and takes a bite, then falls back into describing the show, talking with a mouthful of food.

Marinette only half listens, she doesn't even have the heart to scold him for talking with food in his mouth. She sits quietly, reacting to Adrien whenever necessary, as she comes to terms with the fact that she's in love with the two most important boys in her life.

She's royally screwed.

* * *

As always

you can find me on tumblr, username malibumomner

come kick my ass


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